Olusegun-Mimiko, Governor, Ondo State

Against the background of the report in the social media that the Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko (of the Labour Party) has moved to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the Commissioner for Information, Mr Kayode Akinmade, told TheNEWS this morning that consultations are still going on. What will determine this, according to him, will be the outcome of the meetings.

“As far as I am concerned, Governor Mimiko is still in Labour Party.” He reminded the medium that Mimiko was a former Secretary to the State Government under the PDP when Olusegun Agagu was governor and it was under the same party that he became Minister for Housing.

“It was when he signified interest to be governor under PDP then in Ondo State that he was not allowed and he had to join a neutral party to realise his ambition,” Akinmade said. However if, Mimiko shifts to PDP, it will be a form of home coming.

Below is Mimiko’s political history, as published by Wikipedia:

“Born 3 October 1954, Mimiko is the current governor of Ondo State, Nigeria. Dr. Olusegun Mimiko competed in gubernatorial elections on April 14, 2007, against the incumbent Olusegun Agagu and lost the contest in April 2007 according to the result released by the Independent Electoral Commission INEC. Mimiko contested this decision at the election tribunal and Agagu lost office on February 23, 2009 following an Appeal Court ruling which cited irregularities in the 2007 election, and was replaced by Mimiko as governor.

Mimiko is currently the first and only member of the Labour Party to win gubernatorial office in Nigeria. Governor Olusegun Mimiko was said to have won the election on October 20, 2012 enabling him to continue in office for a second term making him the first Governor in Ondo State to win a second term election. Mimiko’s victory is now being contested by the candidate of the ACN – Rotimi Akeredolu, the candidate of the PDP – Olusola Oke and the candidate of the CPC – Olusoji Ehinlanwo.

In October 2012, Mimiko stood as the Labour Party candidate for Nigeria’s Ondo State and polled the highest votes in the elections..” Going by the drift of Akinmade, it is clear that when Mimiko, who once referred to himself as the Chairman of Labour Party Governors’ Forum, moves, his destination will be PDP.”