Dr. Olusegun Mimiko

From Julius Alabi, Akure. The Guardian, Tuesday, February 13, 2007

FORMER Housing and Urban Development Minister and Labour Party governorship candidate in Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko has described his criticism by President Olusegun Obasanjo as a blessing in disguise.

Mimiko addressed supporters and decampees from the Action Congress (AC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who defied heavy rain in Epinmi Akoko yesterday to attend the party’s rally. He said that events in the last few days had shown that the President’s unfounded allegation rather than dampening the morale of his supporters nation-wide had become a blessing in disguise as more and more people had continued to assure him of their support on a daily basis.

Obasanjo had during the PDP’s rally penultimate Saturday in Akure stated that he had begged the former minister not to resign from the Federal Executive Council and branded him as corrupt, adding that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would soon be after him.

The former minister stressed that he had been vindicated by the EFCC assurance that he was not in any way being investigated as there was no petition against him before it and assured the people of Ondo State that his quest to be the state’s governor was not to amass wealth but to provide good leadership.

He equally noted that his party would run an all-inclusive government hence the motto of his campaign: Room Enough for All.

He thanked the people of Ondo State for their show of love and solidarity while the matter lasted and therefore called on the people to come out and vote for his party in the April election.

He assured the people that he would improve the state’s economy when elected as their governor.

Earlier, the state party chairman, Dr. Olaiya Oni, former Minister of Education, while welcoming the new entrants into the party assured them that their interests would always be protected.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu has cleared Mimiko of any act of corruption as he revealed that his commission did not have anything against the former minister.

In an interview with a news magazine, Ribadu debunked insinuations that his commission was being used by the Presidency, saying that Mimiko’s name was not on its list of those being investigated by the EFCC.

His words: “As far as I know, we don’t have anything against Olusegun Mimiko. He is not in any way being investigated.” Indeed, thousands of Mimiko’s supporters yesterday converged at the Labour Party’s Secretariat along Oyemekun Road in Akure, the state capital and gave thanks to God.

Via Odili.net: http://odili.net/news/source/2007/feb/13/11.html