Former senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Sen Dino Melaye, has won the Kogi State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial primary election conducted on Sunday.
Melaye, according to the election’s Returning Officer, polled 313 votes to defeat his closet opponent, Idoko Ilonah, who scored 124 votes.
Coming a distant third in the poll was Sunday Awoniyi Sunday, who scored 77 votes, and was trailed by Musa Wada, who polled 56 votes.
Periscope International reports that 27 individuals, including Melaye, had vied for the governorship ticket of the opposition PDP in the state but were all floored by the vocal Sen Melaye.
They include notable individuals like Kogi State former deputy governor, Yomi Awoniyi, former senator Attai Aidoko, as well as Kebiru Usman, Abdullahi Haruna, Zakaria Alfa, Musa Wada, Bolu Femi, and Idoko Idah, among others.
It was gathered that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President of Nigeria and PDP presidential candidate in the February 25 presidential elections, backed Melaye, who was one of his presidential campaign spokespersons, for the governorship position.
On the other hand,Rivers State Gov, Nyesom Wike, was said to have backed Idah to clinch the PDP governorship ticket, in what appeared to be a political flexing of muscles between the two PDP stalwarts for the soul of the party in Kogi State.
Melaye will now have to slug it out during the November secondary election for the Lugard Government House, Lokoja, with Alhaji Ahmed Ododo, Kogi Gov Yahaya Bello’s surrogate, who earlier on Saturday clinched the gubernatorial ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)
