Melaye floors Smart, wins Kogi West Senatorial seat

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Hon. Dino Melaye, was on Monday declared the winner of the Kogi West Senatorial District election held on March 28.

Melaye defeated the candidates of seven other political parties, including the seating senator of the district, Smart Adeyemi, of the Peoples Democratic Party and Aro Bamidele of the Accord Party, who defected from the PDP due to the internal crisis rocking the party in the state.

Returning Officer of the Senatorial District, Mr. Adadi Ameh, in the early hours of Monday declared Melaye the winner at the Independent National Elcectoral Commision’s office in Lokoja Local Government area.

The Lokoja LGA office is the regional office of Kogi West Senatorial District, which comprises seven local governments of Ijumu, Kabba-Bunu, Kogi-Koton Karfe, Lokoja, Mopa Moro, Yagba East and Yagba West.

Melaye polled 41,120 of the total 118, 987 votes cast, while his closest opponent, Adeyemi, polled 38, 148 votes and Aro of Accord had 26,198 votes.

The declaration, which was met with a rapturous applause by Melaye’s supporters, was well received by the agent of the PDP, although with controlled grumblings.

Melaye, who was at the venue of the declaration, told our correspondent that the victory was for the people.

“It is a call to duty and service and I will do my best not to disappoint the people who entrusted their votes in me. The people of Kogi West have made their choice and I promise that they will be given the best of Senatorial representation.”

“I believe I won because I was closer to the grassroots. They had more money than sense and spent it but we spent our brain because we have no money and the people have made their choice,” Melaye said.