Senator Dino Melaye’s bid to return to the Senate as senator representing Kogi West has suffered a major setback as Hon Tajudeen Yusuf has defeated him to clinch the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket.
Hon Yusuf is currently representing Kabba/Bunu Ijumu constituency in the House of Representatives.
In the conclusive primary, Yusuf polled 163 votes to defeat Dino who scored 99 votes.
Earlier on Monday, Yusuf had levelled with Dino when they both scored 88 votes, prompting the party to organise a rerun to determine the winner.
But at the rerun on Tuesday, Yusuf secured a majority of votes to put a stop to Melaye’s dreams of returning to the Senate.
In a post on his official Facebook page on Tuesday, Melaye congratulated his rival and commended the delegates who voted in the two elections.
Melaye wrote, “The primary has been fought and won. I congratulate Hon. T.J Yusuf and thank all those who voted in the first and second ballot for me. The gang up is unimaginable but l give God praise. God bless you all.”
It is instructive to note that while TJ Yusuf was rooting for the presidential ambition of Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike in the state, Dino Melaye was backing former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to clinch the PDP ticket.
It was further gathered that TJ Yusuf was able to draw sympathy from the camp of the former governor Ibrahim Idris whose favourite candidate, Sam Aro, polled 72 votes on the first run of the Senate primary on Monday.
The Sam Aro bloc vote was said to have swung the election in favour of TJ Yusuf and consequently dashed the hope of Dino Melaye’s second term bid for the Senate.
