The chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi West Senatorial District, Barr. Kola Ojo, has said that the party is ready to participate in the senatorial supplementary election scheduled to hold on November 30 across some polling units in the district.
Ojo, who addressed a press conference in Lokoja on Tuesday, lamented the alleged complicity and compromise on the parts of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies during the last election in the state.
The chairman however said that not withstanding the complicity by government and the electoral institutions at the governorship election, the party has directed all its party members to participate fully in the supplementary election.
Barr. Ojo assured the Kogi West electorates that PDP will win the Kogi West Senatorial seat insisting that no amount of intimidation should deter the people.
He called on the security agencies to be professional and avoid repeat of what was witnessed during the November 16 governorship and senatorial rerun elections in the state.
Ojo also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to be an unbiased umpire in their conduct during the rescheduled supplementary election in the state.
INEC had declared the November 16 senatorial rerun election in the district inconclusive on grounds of margin and subsequently fixed November 30 for supplementary polls across 53 polling units where elections were marred by violence and snatching of ballot boxes.
INEC’s Returning Officer for the election, Prof Olayide Lawal before declaring the election inconclusive said the candidate of the APC, Smart Adeyemi polled 80,118 votes while Dino Melaye of the PDP got 59,548.
He however said that votes were cancelled across 53 polling units in the senatorial district with 46, 127 registered voters, figure which he said was higher than the margin of over 20,000 with which Adeyemi was leading Dino after the rerun election.
