Dr. Olusegun Mimiko

Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, governorship candidate of the Labour Party in Ondo State, has intensified his campaigns. In this report, Adebayo Waheed , writes on Mimiko’s visit to Okitipupa.

During the era when provinces and divisions were the fad in governance in Nigeria, Okitipupa used to be the headquarters of the defunct Okitipupa Division. It shared this enviable position then with towns such as Ondo, Owo, Ikare and Ado-Ekiti.

Accentuating Okitipupa’s importance in the unfolding political scenario in Ondo State is the fact that the incumbent governor, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, is from Iju-Odo, one of the towns in Okitipupa Local Government Area.

Expectedly, candidates of political parties in the race for the Alagbaka Government House, have turned the town to a battlefield in which there is constant scramble for people’s vote.

Dr. Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour Party and the incumbent governor, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, who is the standard bearer of th Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appear to top the list of contenders for the governorship seat.

Mimiko, a grassroots politician seen as very close to the masses was a two-time Health Commissioner in the state as well as the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) before his appointment as a federal minister in 2005.

With less than a month to the April 14, governorship election, the campaign rallies of all the contenders for the Alagbaka Government House have reached the peak. Expectedly, those of the PDP and its arch-rival, the Labour Party (LP) have continued to attract attention.

In what many termed a masterstroke, the Labour Party flagged off its campaign rallies in the Southern Senatorial District of the state where Dr. Agagu comes from. Thus, last Saturday, Iroko, as Mimiko is fondly called, stormed Okitipupa, hometown of the incumbent.

At Omotosho town, he was bombarded with chains of requests which the people claimed successive administrations in the state did not address. These include electricity, good roads, water, health care facilities and employment for youths.

Mimiko assured the people that he would ensure that their roads would be completed within his first year in office.

He added that gainful employment will be provided for the youths while free and qualitative health care services for all pregnant women and children below five years would also be provided. He also stated that education shall be free from primary to secondary school level while all forms of levies would be stopped throughout his regime if elected.

On his entourage were his wife, Oluwakemi, Labour Party state Chairman, Dr Olaiya Oni; his deputy, Chief Kayode Iwakun; former PDP chairman in the state, Alhaji Alli Olanusi, Hon. Boluwaji Kunlere, Apostle Yele Omogunwa and many other party chieftains.

At Igbotako, an indication that the Ikale people were not happy with Agagu’s performance was given by a cleric, Evangelist Akingbehin.

The state party chairman, Dr. Olaiya Oni told the mammoth crowd that the time has come for the people of the community to reject the oligarchy of a family.

“You all know Dr. Mimiko, he has served you variously and you know what he did and is capable of doing. He will bring back the lost glory of our state”.

In his address, Chief Kayode Iwakun regretted that despite the fact that their son is the incumbent governor, the Ikales have not benefited anything from his administration.

“A river that forgets its source will dry up; our son has forgotten that we put him there to make our lives and that of the entire people of this state better. Must we allow him to continue to treat us as if we are not human beings?”

To him, the time has come when the people must do what is right by ensuring that they vote for “a man with a caring heart, a man tested and found to be true.”

Other party chieftains also took turns to extol the sterling qualities of Dr. Mimiko and itemized all he has done for the state.

Dr. Mimiko, in his brief remarks, regretted that those in government had derailed from their set objectives. “They have spent three and a half years planning; they failed to provide the people with the dividends of democracy.

“We need to ask them what they have to show for all the money that they have received on our behalf? Our taps are dry while water flows only on the screen of our television sets, our roads are surface-dressed and causes more damage than before; our education sector, hitherto known for its quality, is a shadow of its former self.

“This is why I resigned my appointment as Minister of Housing and Urban Development to honour the clarion call of our people and rebuild our state”.

At the palace of the Rebuja of Osooro, Oba Bajowa, Mimiko intimated the royal father of his desire to bring a positive change to the state and asked for his royal blessing. The traditional ruler blessed Mimiko whom he dubbed a true son of Osooroland having been involved in the transformation of the area in his various capacities at the state level.

At Iju-Odo, the hometown of Dr. Agagu. the crowd hailed Mimiko. He was allowed to speak, surprisingly for only five minutes before the people of the town assured him of their support.

In an emotion laden voice, Dr. Mimiko stated that he was touched by their show of love, pledging to live up to expectations when eventually he is voted into power.

Source: http://www.tribune.com.ng/22032007/politics.html