The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State, Senator Dino Melaye, has expressed confidence that the party will win the November 11 election in the state.
He further charged voters in the state not to be intimidated by the threats of the All Progressives Congress (APC), asking them not to be deterred from exercising their democratic rights.
Speaking after a meeting of Kogi PDP stakeholders from the three Senatorial zone of the state, with the members of the NWC at the party headquarters in Abuja, Melaye said the party will win because the state has never had it so bad in its history as during the almost eight years of the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration in the state.
He said, “PDP is going to win the election in Kogi State, because we have never had it so bad in the history of Kogi State. Our people were impoverished, salaries have not been paid, pensions have not been paid, gratuity has not been paid, the health sector is non-existent, in fact all the General Hospitals in the state are mere consulting clinics.
“Education has gone moribund, this is what the PDP is coming to ameliorate and palate. I want to assure you that by the grace of God. With the resolutions of this meeting, with the strategy adopted in this meeting, PDP is good to go in Kogi State.
“My charge to Kogi State is that they should not be Intimidated by the APC, by the threat, violence, and humiliation by the APC should not deter them from exercising their Democratic rights. I want to assure you that we will protect our people,” he said.
On its part, the acting national chairman of PDP, Umar Iiliya Damagum, said there are positive prospects for the party ahead of the Kogi election, adding that the stakeholders meeting was convened to know the challenges and how to work on reconciliation among party members before the election.
“This reconciliation will take three stages from the ward, local government and state. I am glad most of the Senior Stakeholders are here and they are supposed to anchor that reconciliation. Because we from outside the state we can only encourage you to work on the reconciliation.
“I am delightful to tell you that the Osun State Governor who is the Chairman of the Kogi Campaign committee has promised that he will go to each zone to seat down with you on a Zonal basis. He will campaign in all these places and he is very much alive to this responsibility in Kogi.
“In this meeting, we want your leaders to tell us where they want us to come in, so that we can work together for victory,” he said.