SDP rejects Kogi Central senatorial seat


The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has rejected the result of the Kogi Central senatorial district, saying the party does not believe it was the authentic result and therefore does not represent the position of the electorate.

The party state chairman, Alhaji Muktar Atimah, Monday said the election was marred by lots of irregularities, describing the situation as most unacceptable to the party.

“The Kogi state governor turned himself to an electoral officer moving round and collecting form EC8A from one polling unit to another and filling it himself.

”The action of the governor is laughable as the accreditation by the card readers did not tally with the vote cast, so how can such results hold.

”This is not an election because he cannot use his position, those of his aides and security agencies to intimidate people. We are worried by the hurried nature by which the results were cooked up. How can you imagine Natasha scoring zero in polling units where even the PDP would have more votes than we do?”

The chairman, however,called on members of the SDP and supporters of Natasha Apoti to remain calm, as the purported results that were allocated to SDP cannot stand.

Meanwhile, Senator Dino Melaye representing Kogi West who contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was declared winner over his closest rival Senator Smart Adeyemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC).The returning officer in charge of Kogi West, Professor Emmanuel Bala, while declaring the election results at INEC office in Lokoja, disclosed that out of seven local government councils, Melaye won in six. 

The two major contestants are both from Ijumu local government council. While Senator Smart Adeyemi is from Iyara in Ijumu, Senator Dino Melaye is from Ayetoro-Gbede also in Ijumu local government council.

The returning officer said in Kabba-Bunu LGA, Senator Smart Adeyemi scored 8,971 while Melaye scored 14,756. 

In Kogi local government council, PDP scored 11, 024 while APC scored 15,639; in Ijumu, PDP scored 11749 while APC 8517. 

In Lokoja local government, PDP scored 24,576 while APC 18, 800 and in Yagba West, PDP scored 8,942 while APC scored 6,799.

Also, in Mopa, PDP scored 5,112 while APC scored 3,668. In Yagba East, PDP scored 8,638 while APC 5077. Adeyemi scored a total votes of 67, 471 while Senator Melaye scored 84, 797.

In the Kogi Central senatorial district, the APC candidate Oseni Yakubu beat incumbent senator, Ahmed Ogembe of the PDP, and SDP’s candidate Barrister Natasha Akpoti to pick a seat in the Senate

INEC returning officer who announced the result said that the APC candidate polled 76,183 votes to beat a popular Social Democratic (SDP) candidate Natasha Akpoti who polled 48,056 votes while Senator Ogembe pulled 18,349 to come third. 

Also in the Eastern part of the state a former banker and a candidate of APC Alhaji Isah Echocho scored over 113, 000 votes as Senator Atai Aidoko of PDP who scored over 69, 000 and the candidate of ADC, DR. Victor Adoji, pulled over 30,000 votes. 

However, the Returning Officer for the Kogi east senatorial election has declared Kogi east senatorial elections inconclusive because election did not hold in 129 polling units in the senatorial district.

The Saturday election in Kogi East was charactised by crises as two people were shot dead at Anyigba in Dekina local government following an attack by political thugs. 

Also in Igalamela /Odolu local government Adebomu Adebayo was killed by well armed thugs numbering about 10 when they invaded the resident of Elder Friday Makama .

In the Central senatorial district one of the aide to the state government Mr Kabiru Onyene was attacked but narrowly escaped, but lost his police guard.     

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