Kogi Election: Power of the Tongue, Other Factor That Caused Dino Melaye, PDP's Defeat
Dino Melaye, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Saturday, November 11, governorship election in Kogi state, was defeated in the poll in a manner that was surprising to many.
Legit.ng journalist Bada Yusuf is an accomplished politics and current affairs editor, boasting over seven years of experience in journalism and writing.
Melaye was a former House of Representatives Member and a former Senator from Kogi West. Some political observers expected his experience and exposure to make him a strong contender for the election.
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However, the poll's outcome proved otherwise, as Dino Melaye and PDP came far third with non-competitive votes.
How people of Kogi voted between Ododo, Melaye, Ajaka and Abejide
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the election winner after garnering the highest number of votes.
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A breakdown of the votes showed that the APC candidate won 12 of the local government areas in the state, while his strongest opponent, Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), won eight.
Leke Abejide, the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), won one local government.
According to INEC, Ododo polled 446,237 votes ahead of Ajaka, who scored 259,052, while Abejide secured 21,819.
On the other hand, Melaye of the PDP did not win any local government but garnered 46,362 votes to emerge third in the election.
The poll's outcome was surprising given the popularity of the PDP candidate ahead of the election.
The poor outing of the PDP candidate could be traced to two major factors, which are explained below:
Fighting Yahaya Bello is fighting against God; Dino Melaye once said
Melaye and the outgoing governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello, were once close friends before the former dumped the APC for the PDP.
During their friendship days, the former lawmaker, in 2016, said, "If you are fighting Yahaya Bello, you are fighting God."
They, however, fell apart later.
Although the real reason behind their rift remain unknown, Melaye's remarks in the past appeared to to have affected his chances at the just-concluded guber poll in the state.
His 2016 post likening Bello to a god seemed to be hunting him. After all, the tongue is said to be mightier than sword.
Since Melaye stopped being in the same camp as Governor Bello, he has yet to be able to win any election, either for himself or for his preferred candidate.
A user recalled the statement in a tweet during Melaye's outing in 2019. See his tweet here:
Dino Melaye's unmarried life
The single man's lifestyle of the PDP candidate might be the second factor that worked against him at the poll, considering the social and religious structure of the state he aspires to govern.
Kogi state is one of the Muslim-dominated states in Nigeria, and the majority of the Christians in the north-central states might not want to see an unmarried man at the helm of the affairs of the state.
Dino Melaye is from Kogi West senatorial district, vastly populated by Christians, but he needed help to secure the majority votes of the constituency he last represented at the Senate.
A few days before the poll, Melaye was taunted by Ododo of the APC, where he described himself as "a married woman".
Though he appeared to have committed a gaffe, he had covertly mocked the PDP candidate for not being able to manage a family but aspiring to govern a state.
See the video of the gaffe here:
Poor support from PDP
It was obvious that Dino Melaye did not enjoy full supports from members of the PDP. His emergence was criticised as the stakeholders alleged that delegate list were changed without their consent.
Chukwuka Ofoegbu, also known as Ijele Speaks, a security and public affairs analyst, brought out this issue while speaking with Legit.ng on the outcome of the election in Kogi state.
The analyst said:
"The PDP campaign (whose flag bearer never bothered voting for himself), died the day aggrieved party members thronged to their headquarters to register their displeasure at what they termed a change of delegates list and were disregarded."
Also, Nyesom Wike, mocked the PDP when Melaye emerged as the flagbearer of the PDP, expressing the confidence that his personality cannot win election in Kogi state.
See video of his interview here:
Kogi 2023: Dino Melaye, Ododo, Ajaja, and other candidates to watch out for
Legit.ng earlier examined factors that would determine the recently concluded guber election in Kogi state.
The report chronicled how Igala people in the Eastern senatorial district governed the state for over 20 years and still want to maintain their grip on power.
The Igalas are the most populous tribe the state. They dominate nine of the 21 local government areas in the state.
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Source: Legit.ng
