Protests Against Melaye, Faleke In Kogi

The crisis rocking the Kogi State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) took a new turn on Friday when some members protested against Senator Dino Melaye and Rep. Abiodun Faleke.

The peaceful protest which was held at Kabba was  led by the state Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria ( ALGON), Mr Taufiq Isah, who denounced Sen. Dino Melaye and Hon. Abiodun Faleke for working against the interest of the party.

Melaye currently represents Kogi West senatorial district in the Senate while Faleke was the running mate to the late Gov.Abubakar Audu and also represents Ifako -Ijaiye Federal constituency of Lagos State in the House of Representatives.

They accused them of working against the interest of the Yoruba speaking people of Kogi State and urged them to desist.

The protesters also carried their grievances to the palaces of traditional rulers in Okunland and appealed to them to call the duo to order.

“Their utterances and actions are against the development of the various communities in the western senatorial district of the state, “ Isa,  said.

The protesters later assembled at Kabba where a communique issued at the end of a stakeholders meeting was read by Isah.

In the communique , the stakeholder “denounce, reject and disown in all ramifications all action, utterances and activities that are inimical to the progress and development of Okun people”.

It denounced actions and utterances against the administrations of President Muhamadu Buhari and Alhaji Yahaya Bello and their new direction policies.

“Their actions are at best, self serving, insensitive to the yearnings of Okun people, a misdirected fight for positions which are of no benefit for the Okun people they claim to be representing,” the communique read.

Addressing the protesters at Kabba, a traditional ruler, the Obadofin of Kabbaland , Chief Michael Yusuf, said anyone working against Bello was an enemy of the people of Okun.

He expressed the support of the entire people of Okunland for Bello and charged him to continue with his programme of charting a new direction for the state.

In his reaction, Melaye described the development as unfortunate, accusing the protesters and the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello of working against the interest of the party.

He also expressed shock that the people opted for protest to celebrate one year in office of Bello, saying that “Kogi is celebrating one year of agony, pain and distress “.

The senator, who spoke through his special assistant on media, Mr Gideon Ayodele, said that the protest was “ a minus for 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 and 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,” he said.