Senator Dino Melaye on Friday called on his supporters to remain calm and be law abiding after the Appeal Court upheld the judgement of the Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal which nullified his election into the National Assembly as representative of Kogi West. Melaye promised his supporters that he will continue to defeat Smart Adeyemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in elections conducted in the Kogi West senatorial district.
The Appeal Court had on Friday nullified Melaye’s election and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct fresh election for representative of the Kogi West senatorial district in the National Assembly. Melaye expressed the optimism that he will still win the re-ordered election, noting that Adeyemi had been defeated in the two past elections.
Dino Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had defeated Adeyemi of the APC with 85,395 votes to 66,901 votes in the February 16 elections which was being annulled by the courts.
Adeyemi had challenged the result at the tribunal, which delivered judgement in August nullifying the election.
The three-man panel led by Justice A. O. Chijioke, in a unanimous judgment, ordered fresh election into the Kogi West senatorial district.
The Court of Appeal on Friday upheld the tribunal’s judgment ordering fresh election within 90 days.
Melaye, however, in a video on his Facebook page titled “I will defeat my political wife Smart Adeyemi again”, declared that the fresh election would be the third goal he would score against his opponent; calling Adeyemi his political wife.