The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged its members and
supporters in Kogi West Senatorial District to brace up and get ready
for a triumphant supplementary election on Nov. 30.
The party, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary,
Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, on Sunday in Abuja, said that nothing would
deter PDP from picking the Senate seat.
Ologbondiyan called on all PDP members, supporters, citizens and
voters in Kogi West to be united.
He urged them to be โready against any repressive forces that might
attempt to forcefully invade any polling unit, disrupt the electoral
process or alter results as witnessed in the Nov. 16 electionsโ.
He said that Kogi, and particularly Kogi West, remains home of PDP and
the people were not ready to accept any impunity.
โOur party charges the people of Kogi to come prepared to vote,
protect their votes and ensure that they stamp their will on the
ballot despite the odds.โ
He cautioned security agents as well as INEC officials against
subverting the will of the people, adding that such was โcapable of
attracting dire consequencesโ.
โThe party directs its members to stay united under their leaders in
the area as they will continue to be updated of vital information
ahead of the election.โ
Ologbondiyan said that the PDP was mourning compatriots killed in the
Nov. 16, restating that their death would never be in vain.
INEC has fixed Nov. 30 for the conduct of the supplementary election
in the district to conclude the court-ordered rerun election.
The Nov. 16 re-run election for Kogi West was declared inconclusive
because the margin of win was less than the total cancelled votes.
INEC Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Olayide Lawal, while
announcing the outcome, said that the candidate of the APC, Smart
Adeyemi, polled 80,118 votes while Dino Melaye of the PDP got 59,548.
Lawal, however, said that votes were cancelled across 53 polling units
in the senatorial district with 46,127 registered voters involved.
He attributed the cancellation to violence and ballot box snatching.
