From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
As the November 16 governorship poll in Kogi draws nearer, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party in Kogi State have embarked on loud and harsh campaign to woo voters.
While the PDP harps on the hardship Governor Bello administration has visited on the people through delayed and non- payment of several months of salary, the APC paints the rival party’s candidate in black humour.
On Friday, Director General, APC campaign council, Senator Smart Adeyemi took a swipe at what he called “poorly attended flag-off campaign of the PDP in spite of the money spent to lure spectators to the rally”,
He said, “The PDP flag off today was totally a show of shame. It is disheartening that despite bringing in people from other part of the country, they could barely record 5000 people; making the 25,000 sitting capacity stadium look empty.
“More disturbing is the position of the opposition candidate, Musa Wada who could not articulate his manifesto for the state.
“How shameful it is that the PDP candidate cannot reel out the party vision and mission for the state, neither can he bring to fore contemporary issues about the country; it is quite shameful.
“There is nothing cerebral about their candidate and his disposition to critical issues has shown that he is not prepare for the office he’s gunning for.
The PDP during it rally vowed to flush out the ruling APC and bounce back to Lugard House in the next dispensation to provide citizens with the needed good governance.
The party stormed the ancient city of Lokoja on Friday for its flag off campaign with a promise to liberate the people of the state from poverty inflicted on them since the ruling APC came on board.
PDP also promised to make prompt payment of salaries a top priority of its administration if given the mandate come November 16 governorship election.
The National Chairman of PDP, Uche Secondus while presenting Musa Wada to party supporters said that Wada was in the best position to ensure prompt payment of salaries as well as improve their standard of living.
Secondus also presented Dino Melaye whom he described as a voice that cannot be silenced to party supporters and urged them to support him to return to the red chamber come November 16.
The party’s flag bearer, Musa Wada, told party supporters to expect improvement in their standard of living as he was set to bring succor in place of the suffering imposed on them by the APC-led administration of Yahaya Bello.
In his usual characteristic as an entertaining politician, Dino Melaye led supporters in a song of “Wada in Bello out and bye bye to ‘rederede ‘among other songs.
Speaking at the event earlier, head of security of the party, Joseph Ericho, said that one of the cardinal points of focus of a PDP-led administration was the prompt payment of salaries to alleviate the suffering which the people had been subjected to in the last three and half years of the Bello-led administration of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Ericho, once a governorship aspirant that lost to the flag bearer, Musa Wada said that PDP government would bring back smiles to the faces of Kogi people if given the chance in the election.
Meanwhile, the factional APC Abubakar Audu/James Faleke political family at the weekend formally collapsed their political structure to join the struggle for the return of Governor Yahaya Bello back to Lugard House,
The group leader and former deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the 2015 election, Hon James Faleke made the declaration at a meeting with Gov. Yahaya Bello, on Friday at the Government House Lokoja.
They both noted thanked the leadership of the Audu/Faleke group for choosing the people and the party above selfish interest, noting that their action was a further assurance of victory at the polls.
