The governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Kogi State, Dino Melaye, has expressed confidence in winning the November 11 governorship election in the state.

Melaye after a meeting held between the Kogi PDP stakeholders and members of the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party at the party’s headquarters in Abuja appealed to the residents of the state not to be intimidated by the threat and violence allegedly orchestrated by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state. “They should not be intimidated by the threat, violence, the humiliation by the APC, it should not deter them from exercising their democratic rights. I want to assure you that we will protect our people,” he said.

The former Senator who represented Kogi West also lambasted Governor Yahaya Bello for “woeful performance”, saying the state “never had it so bad”. “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, and the health sector is non-existent. In fact, all the General Hospitals in the state are mere consulting clinics. He said.

“Education has gone moribund, this is what the PDP is coming to ameliorate and palate.”

Mr. Melaye disclosed that the meeting adopted a strategy to reclaim power from the ruling APC. “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,” he disclosed.      Speaking earlier, the acting National Chairman of the party, Umar Damagum, said the party had already seen prospects in the Kogi election.

He disclosed that the meeting was called to identify the challenges facing the party ahead of the polls. Mr. Damagun also assured that the party would reconcile all aggrieved parties before the election day. He said: “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 are from outside the state we can only encourage you to work on the reconciliation.

“I am delighted 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.”