HRM Matthew Opaluwa Oguche, the apex ruler of the Igala Kingdom and President of the Kogi State Council of Chiefs, has refused to endorse Dino Melaye, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for governor of the state.
WITHIN NIGERIA understands that Melaye visited the traditional ruler on Tuesday in Idah, the ancestral home of the Igala Kingdom.
In the courtesy visit to the royal father, the former lawmaker was accompanied by his running mate, Hajia Habeebat Mohammed Deen, the Party’s state chairman in Kogi state, Engr. Samuel Uhuotu and other party stakeholders to receive his blessings as they approach the campaign and election process.
During his visit, Melaye thanked the Attah Igala and the council of chiefs for welcoming him warmly into the palace. He requested that the royal father continue to pray for them to win the election.
The PDP flagbearer assured the royal father that Attah Igala’s stool would be properly placed and would receive national and international recognition.
He said:
We have not come here to campaign because the time for the campaign is not here, but we have come to pay a courtesy visit to our father, who I respect so much. As a government, we will dedicate a day to celebrate the stool of Attah Igala, and the state will make a law that will allow our royal fathers to have engagement in the governance of the state.
I will not be a Muslim governor or a Christian governor. I will not be an Igala, Ebira or Okun Governor but a governor with the fear of God. I will rule Kogi state with inclusiveness.
We have come to you to seek your blessings as a revered Royal father and the representative of the Almighty God, and I am sure that you have a strong connection with God that answers prayers.
In his remark, however, the Atta Igala prayed for the Governorship candidate and asked that the will of God be done as Kogi decides who will rule the state for another four years.
The traditional ruler made it clear that as the father of all, he cannot endorse a candidate but bless anyone that seeks his blessings.
“I have always prayed that the person that the cap fits should emerge,” the traditional ruler noted.