Mimiko Challenges Tinubu to Reveal Form of Assistance

Governor Olusegun Mimiko

By James Sowole  

Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State has challenged the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to open up over the much acclaimed assistance given to him before, during and after the election of 2007 that brought him to power as the governor.

Mimiko, who spoke at the palace of Osemawe of Ondo, Oba Victor Kiladejo, his hometown, also said he did not betray the former  governors of the state, Adebayo Adefarati, Olusegun Agagu or the former governor of Lagos State, Tinubu, as being claimed by his opponents.

“As for Tinubu, I challenge him to tell the whole world where and when he gave me money to contest election in 2007 or to prosecute my legal battle to reclaim my mandate.

“The only thing he did was that he brought a forensic experts but I paid for all their services including the cost of procuring all the materials they needed for their jobs and other logistics.

“Chief Wole Olanipekun, my lead counsel is alive. He is aware of everything that happened. The only thing that Tinubu did was that he claimed to have paid the professional fee of Adrian Forty (the forensic expert) but did not give details.

“Tinubu did not also negotiate with me on whether I will join his party after my legal victory. They asked me to join the Action Congress of Nigeria in 2010 and I said that my people are not willing to leave the LP.

“They are calling me all sorts of names because I failed to go against the wish of my people but I know that my conscience is clear because I did not offend Tinubu in anyway.

“I did my best to have a good working relationship with the ACN governors until they were dragging me to join their party at all cost,” he stated.

Mimiko said he was faithful, loyal and committed to all his bosses when he served under them as their Commissioner and Secretary to the State Government even when there was a grand conspiracy against him.

The Labour Party governorship candidate said he decided to clear the air on the misgivings and rumours against him at the palace of the Osemawe in his own dialect so that everybody will know that he was speaking the truth.

“I have sacrificially and faithfully served the people of Ondo State in the last three and half years to the best of my ability and heaven is my witness.

“That was exactly what I served at the Adefarati and Agagu administration. Anybody that is calling me a betrayal or an ingrate is ignorant of the true accounts of what happened between me, Adefarati and Agagu.

“I tried my best to serve the two of them as best as I could but things went wrong when fifth columnists infiltrated and they reneged on our solemn agreement which made me to leave their governments because I detested cheating”, Mimiko stated.

Meanwhile, the Rotimi Akeredolu Campaign Organisation (ACO) has described the statement credited to Mimiko that the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) is undemocratic having allegedly abandoned its presidential candidate in the last presidential election, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, as not only untrue but also exists only in his imagination.

In a statement, ACO’s Director of Media, Mr. Idowu Ajanaku, said it was unthinkable for anyone to imagine that ACN leadership could conspire against its presidential candidate after spending human and material resources campaigning for him all across the country.

He also said the fact that Nigerians voted for their choice of candidate in the last presidential election did not make ACN undemocratic, saying it only confirmed the liberal nature of ACN as a party.

Ajanaku said: “ACN is a democratic party to the core and we will not induce anybody to vote for the party.

The last presidential election was largely polarised along ethnic and religious divides and majority of the people of South-west voted for  Jonathan in person because they wanted to give the South-south, a minority group a chance to lead the country.”
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