Kogi Governorship Election: Top 5 PDP Politicians Who Want to Dislodge APC and Take Over from Yahaya Bello

On Saturday, November 11, 2023, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will be presented with another chance to take over the governorship seat in Kogi state from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The opposition PDP has already screened nine aspirants who will be slugging it out at the party's primaries to clinch the important ticket.

Among the aspirants, five names stand out. Here is a brief profile of the five key contenders who may clinch the PDP's guber ticket in Kogi state.

Senator Dino Melaye

Dino Melaye, a former Kogi West senator, is one of the PDP chieftains who want to succeed Yayaha Bello, his staunch political enemy, as the governor of Kogi state.

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There have been speculations that there were plans to rig the electoral process to ensure that Melaye clinched the PDP ticket.

Engineer Musa Wada

Engineer Musa Wada is not a stranger when it comes to the politics of Kogi state. He contested the 2019 governorship election in the state on the platform of the PDP but lost to Governor Bello.

The former guber candidate will be counting on his experience to edge out other aspirants and pick the PDP's governorship ticket again.

Yomi Awoniyi

Yomi Awoniyi is also a veteran politician in Kogi, having served as a deputy governor of the state.

The former deputy governor also recently served as the Director General of the Atiku Okowa Presidential Campaign in Kogi State, in the 2023 presidential election.

Senator Atai Aidoko

Senator Atai Aidoko once represented Kogi East senatorial district in the National Assembly.

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Aidoko was, however, sacked in 2018 as the court condemned the decision of the PDP to present him as its senatorial candidate in the 2015 general election, despite knowing that his challenger Isaac Alfa won the party’s primaries and was given a return ticket by the electoral umpire, INEC.

Abdullahi Haruna SAN

Abdullahi Haruna (SAN) is not just a senior lawyer, he is also very familiar with the Kogi state's political terrain.

He once served as the commissioner of justice in the state.

Kogi PDP guber primary: Atiku denies supporting Dino Melaye

Meanwhile, Atiku Abubakar, the PDP candidate in the February 25 presidential election, has advocated a level playing ground in the forthcoming governorship primary of the party in Kogi state.

The former vice president made his position known in a statement by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, where he dismissed the insinuation that he was supporting Dino Melaye, the spokesperson of his presidential campaign organisation.

Atiku, in the statement, dismissed the report suggesting that he was backing any a particular aspirant among others, adding that such a report should be disregarded.

Source: Legit.ng