Anti-corruption activist and former member of the House of Representatives, Hon Dino Melaye has emerged the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for Kogi West senatorial district.
According to the chairman, APC primary election committee in Kogi State, Engr. Ebitei Francis and the secretary, Hon. Bala Ajeje, Melaye scored 2,077 of the votes to defeat his rival, Abidemi Adeyemi, who received 326 votes.
By this development, the fiery anti-corruption activist will face the incumbent senator representing the senatorial district in the National Assembly, Senator Smart Adeyemi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who surprised pundits by defeating aspirant allegedly backed by Senator Tunde Ogbeha and Gen. David Jemibewon (rtd) at the PDP’s primaries.
Already Melaye has declared he would defeat Adeyemi at the poll “because the people are disenchanted, the people are tired, because PDP is a calamity that befalls Kogi State”, adding “by the grace of God I will defeat Smart Adeyemi hands down in 2015. Without sweat I am going to defeat Smart Adeyemi. The resolve is of the people and not of me, because of maladministration, ineptitude, because of poor leadership, the people will vote out PDP at all levels in 2015 by the grace of God.”
Melaye also asserted that as an incumbent senator, Smart Adeyemi has failed the people of Kogi West senatorial district saying that the lawmaker had failed in all indices of measuring a successful lawmaker. He said, “Every legislator has three primary responsibilities, the first is the act of representation, making sure your people enjoy their fair share of the national cake, as I speak to you in eight years there is no single federal presence in the length and breadth of Kogi West senatorial district, not one. We have heard of senators who through budgetary provisions have built hospitals in their senatorial district, we have heard of senators who have constructed roads of about 300 kilometres through budgetary provisions, we have heard of senators who have built dams that cost even over a billion naira, through budgetary provisions, I want to ask in eight years what federal presence has he provided in the length and breadth of Kogi West senatorial district?
“Then the second is the act of law-making through motions and bills, I challenge Smart Adeyemi, how many motions and bills has been passed by him since he became a senator, I challenge him to show me one bill he has successfully passed in eight years, we are going to do better in that regard. The last is the act of oversight function, he is the chairman of FCT Committee in the Senate, today the FCT has never been this dirty, it has never been this terrible, what has he done as chairman FCT Committee to bring about rejuvenation, modernisation and maintenance of the laws of the FCT?
“Since he became senator he has not communicated with the people. In eight years he has not carried out any town hall meeting with the electorate. When you did not interact with the people and you do not know about their wants and needs how do you provide for them? But I am going to be by the grace of God a senator that will interface with the people, will represent the people, and will always be available for the people.”
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