PDP chairman Dino Melaye did not vote for himself when he campaigned for governor of Kogi.

Referencing Senator Dino Melaye’s activities during the recent Kogi gubernatorial race, Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum, the chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), expressed worries about party loyalty within the party.

Umar Iliya Damagum addressed comments made by Senator Dino Melaye, who called the PDP a “once upon a time party,” in a recent interview with Daily Trust.

Damagum didn’t mince words, squarely placing some of the responsibility for the party’s challenges on Melaye’s shoulders.

“Let me remind you about that statement credited to Dino. He’s part of the problem,” Damagum said, citing Melaye’s run for governor in Kogi State, where, according to the chairman, the senator didn’t even vote for himself. “Put that on record: he didn’t go out to vote in his own election,” Damagum emphasised, highlighting what he viewed as a lack of commitment to the party.

The PDP Chairman continued by challenging Melaye’s apparent involvement in damaging the party’s reputation, saying that anyone endowed with the party’s platform has an obligation to improve its fortunes. Although he accepted that any way a candidate must go through the process, he felt that candidates had a duty to at least lose “credibly” to the party.

The PDP has suspended Senator Dino Melaye for allegedly engaging in anti-party actions, exacerbating divisions within the organisation.