A former and two-term governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko is plotting a third-term bid surreptitiously through Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), one of the political parties contesting the October 10 governorship election in the state and which he controls as the Party’s sole administrator, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has said.
According to the party, it is not surprising that the entire governorship campaign of the ZLP has centred on Mimiko rather than the obscure and supposed ZLP governorship candidate, Agboola Ajayi.
“Perhaps, Mimiko deludes himself that the good people of Ondo state have forgotten how they were subjected to his arbitrary, tyrannical and dictatorial actions when he governed the state. They have not!
“It is on record how Mimiko factionalised his then political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for his political divide and rule tactics in the party and government.
“Under Mimiko, government projects and patronage were disproportionately distributed only based on political servitude, not priority needs of the State.
“Little wonder many of Mimiko’s associates have ditched him and are now frontline leaders of the APC, in firm support of our candidate, incumbent Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.
“It is understandable, that the ZLP’s supposed governorship candidate has nothing to campaign on after juncketing several political parties to purchase their governorship ticket to contest the October 10 election in Ondo state”, APC said in a statement by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena.
It added: “For us in the APC, the good governance credentials of our candidate, incumbent Governor Rotimi Akeredolu is visible to all, particularly in the area of infrastructure, agriculture, human capital development, industry, entrepreneurship, among others. This is the focus of our well-received campaigns.
“Governor Akeredolu’s first-term administration has ensured prudency, accountability, transparency and blocked leakages which has ultimately enhanced good governance. Ondo State has witnessed unprecedented and massive infrastructural developments, culminating in over 300 kilometres of critical roads being constructed and rehabilitated.
“Ondo is one of the model states that is successfully domesticating and implementing the diversification and agriculture drive of the APC government, with an army of over 6,000 trained Agripreneurs.
“The Ondo people know Governor Akeredolu as the governor who signed into law, a contributory health insurance scheme which enables all classes of people in the state access to affordable health care services.
“Under Governor Akeredolu, the good people of Ondo state are better off and are poised to overwhelmingly return him to continue his administration’s good work, come October 10.”