The crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State continued on Friday as the leadership and members of the party in Kogi west senatorial district protested against the senator representing the district in the National Assembly, Senator Dino Melaye.
Apart from Melaye, the protesters also listed the deputy governorship candidate of the party in the last state governorship election and a member of the House of Representatives, James Faleke, as those working against the people.
The protesters, led by five administrators from the Yoruba speaking axis of the Kogi west, accused various communities in the western senatorial district.
The protesters also presented copies of communique of the meeting of Okun Stakeholders held in Kabba through the state chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Alhaji Taofik Isa.
The communique, a copy of which was made available to Saturday Tribune, read, “We denounce, reject and disown in all ramifications all actions, utterances and activities that are inimical to the progress and development of Okun people against the administrations of President Muhamadu Buhari and Alhaji Yahaya Bello and their new direction policies.
“We do not wish to experience the deprivation we experienced when Senator Smart Adeyemi did when he was busy fighting the former governor Ibrahim Idris and we could not have a university in Okunland.
“Now Senator Dino Melaye and Hon. James Abiodun Faleke have stepped into the shoes of Senator Adeyemi, for selfish political gains and their future ambitions. These actions are at their best, self serving and insensitive to the yearnings of Okun people. They are a misdirected fight for positions which are of no benefit to the Okun people they claim to be representing.”
However reacting to the development, Melaye said it was unfortunate that Bello and his supporters were working in isolation of the party structure.
He said the people chose the one year anniversary of Bello to sponsor the protest, saying “Kogi is celebrating one year of agony, pain and distress.”
The senator, who spoke through his special assistant, media, Gideon Ayodele, said “It is a minus to the state government to be celebrating one year in office and the only APC senator from the state is not present. The state chairman of the party is not present, the three zonal chairmen of the party are in Abuja. 16 out of the 21 local government chairmen are in Abuja.”