*** Party dismisses claim
By Amuda Dan Sulaiman Fab
Crisis looms within the Kogi State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as some senatorial aspirants and stakeholders have alleged a plot in the state party leadership to give undue advantage to senator Dino Melaye ahead of the primary election.
The aspirants, who pleaded anonymity, alleged a plot to skew the party’s senatorial primaries, which will hold next month, in favour of Melaye.
But the PDP leadership in the state has dismissed the claim, saying it is the handiwork of lazy politicians.
A PDP Cheiftain, Mr Dada Micheal, told NationalWatch that the allegation is not only false but a ploy by moles within the party to cause disaffection.
So far no fewer than 6 aspirants have emerged on the party’s platform.
However, some of the senatorial aspirants who made the allegation to select journalists at Idrinana Hotel, Lokoja, venue of the screening of the party’s aspirants on Wednesday, said part of the plot is to organize a Kangaroo primary election in favour of Melaye.
According to one of them, “We hear that the PDP leadership in the state are working assiduously to bring on board Senator Dino Melaye who is said to have spent millions of naira to make him the party’s Kogi West senatorial flagbearer. To this end, he has begun a subtle conscription of some leaders to work on the LGA chairmen through the zonal chairmen to ensure they endorse him as a sole candidate. He has started tipping the individual exco members to influence them to support his aspirant.”
According to our source, they vowed to resist the plot regardless of whatever monetary inducements are involved.
Thank source said, “for now, we are watching, but the information is everywhere.”
Another stakeholder who spoke with this medium, said, “I don’t want to believe the story that the state exco is planning this evil. If it’s true, they will fail woefully. My worry is that they will plunge the party into disrepute before Kogites again.
“Let the aspirant himself not be deceived. Some of them worked for the APC in 2015 and 2019 against the interest of the PDP in the state, but today they are coming to contest under the party just because they have money. We shall see how far their money will take them to.
“Can you imagine Senator Dino Melaye saying he can do without his own LGA and still win the senatorial ticket? Anyway, it’s left to be seen how the state party structure will conduct itself and put together a credible and fair process that will produce a generally acceptable flagbearer for the party in the senatorial district,” the Stakeholder said.
