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 governorship election in the state and a member of the House of Representatives, James Faleke, as those working against the people.
The protesters, led by the five administrators from the Yoruba speaking axis the Kogi west, accused Melaye of working against the interest of the people he is representing.
The people moved from town to town and palace to palace to express their grievances over the activities of the senator.
According to them, the utterances and actions of the people were against the development of the various communities in the western senatorial district of the state.
The protesters also presented copies of communiqué 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 communiqué, a copy of which was made available to Saturday Tribune, read, “We denounce, reject and disown in all ramifications all action, 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 Honourable James Abiodun Faleke have entered into the shoes of Senator Adeyemi, for selfish political gains and future ambitions. These actions are their best, self serving, insensitive to the yearnings of Okun people, a misdirected fight for position which are of no benefit for the Okun people they claim to be representing”.
Responding to the presentation of the protesters, the Obadofin of Kabba, Michael Yusuf, said anyone working against Bello is an enemy of the people of Okun.
He expressed the support of the entire people of Okun for Bello and charged him to continue with the development efforts across the state.
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 he had the protest was organised because “you cannot beat a baby and expect that he will not cry”.
He 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.
“This is to tell the whole world that the governor is working in isolation of the structure of the party in the state. Whatever they are doing, they are doing it for themselves and it is for their pockets only”
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