Kogi: After A Crisis Ridden Election, INEC declares Kogi West Re-run Inconclusive

By Uche Mbah

Unless the Court says otherwise, because of the unbelievable violence which accompanied the Senatorial re-run election in Kogi West, the opposition has lost a strong voice in the Senate.

But it is not yet Uhuru for the Kogi West senatorial re-run election. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has declared the election inconclusive despite declaring that Smart Adeyemi dusted Dino Melaye with 20,570 votes.

Melaye’s election had been annulled by an Appeal Court in Abuja, ordering a re-run. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had fixed the rerun for November 16.

Announcing the INEC decision, the returning Officer, Professor Olayinde Lawal, said that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Smart Adeyemi, scored a total of 80,118 votes while the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Senator Dino Melaye, scored 59,548 votes. But the margin of defeat is too low to warrant the declaration of a winner, he said.

The election itself was more of a war than vote-casting Allegations and counter allegations of rigging has been flying around. Melaye himself has claimed that there were alterations of the result sheets and, more important, violence. His  nephew, Olorunjuwon Oluyomi, was shot by alleged political thugs at Ayetoro ward 1 unit 4, Dino’s polling unit. He was confirmed dead later by the Senator Melaye’s family.

People were “disenfranchised from voting in three units (apart from Ayetoro)”, said Dino Melaye in a Video that went viral online. According to him, two other people died of gunshots in the polling units “Four people died in Lokoja. We have record of about seven people in Igalaland, and yet you are going ahead with the computation of this illegal, fake results.”

He said corps members have been abducted and taken to Government House to alter results.

Melaye was a serious opposing voice within the Red chambers.He was fearless  blunt, and  has  a great sense of humour. His exit would create a vacuum in the opposition, analysts claim.

Following are the official results, and votes cast, according to INEC.

Kabba/Bunu LGA: APC-15,037; PDP-8,974. Ijumu LGA: APC-11,627; PDP-7,647. Kogi/Koton Karfe LGA: APC-14,168; PDP-9,786. Mapo/Muro LGA: APC-4,874; PDP-3,704. Yagba East LGA: APC-6,683; PDP-7,745. Yagba West LGA: APC-7,941;  PDP-8,980. Lokoja LGA: APC-19,788; PDP-12,712.