Dr. Olusegun Mimiko

Ondo, the headquarters of Ondo West local government area of Ondo State yesterday stood still as the Labour Party governorship candidate Dr. Olusegun Mimiko took his campaign tour to the ancient city.

Mimiko, who hails from the town, was honoured by the people with a holiday as all the markets in the town were shut. All traders and artisans converged at the streets leading to the city’s Town Hall to catch a glimpse of the former Housing and Urban Development Minister as his campaign train moved to the Palace of the Osemawe of Ondo, Dr. Adesimbo Kiladejo. Touched by the young and the old, men and women who were waving to his convoy and shouting “Iroko”, Mimiko endeavoured to lift his head up in his open roof four wheel vehicle, waving back to them and appreciating their support with the popular “Gbasibe” slogan of the party.

It took almost two hours for the campaign train to get to the venue as hundreds of people mobbed the convoy singing and shouting “Iroko”, thereby making the convoy to move at snail’s speed.

Accompanied by his running mate, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, his wife, Olukemi, and some leaders of the party, the train entered the expansive Osemawe Palace grounds in grand style as the mammoth crowd kept drumming, singing and dancing to welcome them to the campaign rally.

The Osemawe was full of praises for Mimiko whom he described as a worthy son of Ondo Kingdom who had done not only the Ondos but the people of the state and indeed Nigeria proud in all the positions it has pleased God to place him.

Mimiko promised to bring about a rapid development to the state if elected.

“What else can I say when I see this honour that you have bestowed upon me today by declaring a holiday for me? In the history of Ondo, only on a few occasions are holidays like this declared and it showed that you want a change for the better.

“I want to make a solemn pledge before you today that I will not let you all down. Ondo State will, during our time, be a cynosure of all eyes. Within the first 100 days in office, we shall surpass what the incumbent government has done with over N200 billion in its kitty. We have what it takes to make Ondo State truely a home for all.”

The former Housing and Urban Development Minister told the crowd that his intention to run for the governorship position was borne out of his passion for the overall development of the state through the implementations of various programmes and politics aimed at empowering the people and reducing poverty.

According to him, government must empower the people and communities so that they could develop their communities themselves. This he added, is the only way government can make meaningful impact on the lives of the people, especially those at the grassroots who are far away from urban centres.

“I want to assure you that our government, when elected, will focus on putting in place developmental projects and empowerment programmes for the people.

“We will put in place meaningful micro credit scheme for our market women and traders and we will also provide both direct and indirect employment for our teeming youth.

“Any government that does not help farmers is neglecting 70 per cent of the population of the state.

“It is unfortunate that the price of farm input is increasing by the day and farmers are helpless. A bag of cocoa chemical, for instance, is sold for N25,000.

“How can a cocoa farmer make any sensible profit from a situation like that?

“That is why we are going to place much priority on giving assistance to our farmers. We are going to buy those chemicals in large quantities and sell to our farmers at 50 per cent subsidy. That is why we are going to do throughout the duration of our tenure so that farmers can really reap the fruits of their labour,” Mimiko stated.

Solidarity songs from supporters and the shout of “Iroko” from the crowd punctured every sentence of his speech. At the end of the carnival-like rally, Mimiko proceeded to other towns within the local government where he met with the people and assured them that his era would wipe off their tears.

Source: http://www.thenationonlineng.com/dynamicpage.asp?id=15932