Senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dino Melaye, says he is thankful to God for alleged attempt on his life, adding that he would petition the tribunal against the election of Smart Adeyemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Melaye lost his Kogi West senatorial seat to Adeyemi in a re-run election conducted on Saturday.
Adeyemi polled 88,373 votes while Melaye recorded 62,133 votes, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In a series of tweets on Sunday, Melaye said: “The forces against me are not beyond God. People should not worry about me; I am fine and will always be. I just thank God that the plan to kill me did not succeed. A living dog is better than a dead lion. I thank God for life. My name is Daniel I cannot fall or fail.
“I will challenge the temporal and evaporative victory of Adeyemi at the Tribunal. Victory attained by violence and fraud is tantamount to defeat for it is momentary. It is not about Dino Melaye, it is about Nigeria and our electoral system. I stay the course not over yet.”He also thanked Kogi West people for the votes given in his favour, insisting that Adeyemi remains his ‘political wife’.
After the initial election held on November 16, Melaye and Adeyemi respectively polled 80,118 and 59,548 votes.The margin of 20,570 votes between the two candidates was far less than the 43,127 registered voters in the 53 polling units where elections were canceled, necessitating a re-run.
Adeyemi returns to the Senate five years after he lost the seat to Melaye at the 2015 election