The concern on how thirteen PDP aspirants were disqualified by the National Assembly Screening Committee for Kogi State is still heightened, owning to another fresh allegation accusing Sen. Dino Melaye of plans to also manipulate the Appeal Panel report.
According to a group, known as Kogi West PDP Concerned Stakeholders, they revealed to have discovered that the screening committee and even the Appeal Committee members were all handpicked by the serving Senator, Representing Kogi West Senatorial district.
According to the group in a statement, they lamented a situation where the thirteen aspirants were disqualified on grounds that they have not paid up to date their financial dues and only the serving Senator had fulfilled this obligation.
The Concerned Stakeholders wondered how Sen. Melaye who recently joined the party two months ago was the only one who was qualified as a “financial up to date member” and certified by the party to contest election when others who were members of the party over time were disqualified.
The spokesman of the group, Musa Tenimu Abubakar who signed the statement,said that the allegation that aside Sen. Melaye no other aspirant was qualified could only be true when viewed against the background that the key members of the Screening and Appeal Panel were the Senator’s surrogates.
The Kogi West Concerned PDP Stakeholders concluded that the whole report of the committee was written by Sen. Melaye to exclude others, while he described the mode of handling the composition of the Screening and Appeal Committee done by Senator Melaye as unacceptable.
According to the Stakeholders, it is even more worrisome that one of the Appeal Committee Member who is also rumored to be Sen. Dino Melaye’s surrogates was at the PDP Secretariat boosting that the serving Senator remained unstoppable, thus given the conclusion as it was insinuated in many PDP quarters that everything about wanting to grant the Senator an automatic ticket, without allowing a free and fair party primaries was looking like a faith accompli.
The group also lamented the level to which the National Working Comittee (NWC) of the party had stooped so low to have abdicated its responsibility of producing a candidate to an individual, wondering if the efforts of the Appeal Panel would meet the wishes and aspiration Kogi West PDP.
The group narrated that it was Senator Melaye and two other serving Senators that failed to appear before the screening committee in Lokoja, but were cleared in absential that met the financial up to date membership of the PDP
The group alleged that till date Sen. Melaye who was yet to account for the N10Million said to be have been given to him by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki to ensure the success of the Party in the recently conducted Lokoja Kotonkarfe House of Representatives Bye Election, now remained the only one cleared and recognized as a “financial member of the Party”
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