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Tag: Mimiko

  • APC exposes Mimiko’s third-term agenda

    APC exposes Mimiko’s third-term agenda

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has alleged that a former two-term governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko is plotting a third-term bid through Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

    Mr Yekini Nabena, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of APC made the allegation in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

    Nabena said that ZLP was one of the political parties contesting the forthcoming Oct. 10 Ondo State governorship election.

    According to him “Mimiko was first elected as governor of Ondo State on the platform of Labour Party on Feb. 24, 2009.

    “He contested as the Labour Party candidate and was re-elected on Oct. 20, 2012, for a second term in office, making him the first governor in Ondo State to win a second term election since 1999.

    “He, however, later defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before the end of his tenure as governor in February 24, 2017.”

    Nabena while making the allegation, said: “A former two-term governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko is plotting a third-term bid surreptitiously through Zenith Labour Party”.

    He said that Mimiko controlled the Zenith Labour Party as its sole administrator.

    Nabena said that it was therefore, not surprising that the entire governorship campaign of the ZLP was centred around Mimiko rather than its supposed 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.

    “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,” Nabena said.

    According to him, under Mimiko, government projects and patronage were distributed based on political servitude not priority needs of the state.

    He said that this could be the reason most of his associates ditched him and were now front line leaders of the APC, in firm support of its candidate, Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu, the state’s incumbent governor.

    Nabena said it was understandable that the ZLP’s governorship candidate had nothing substantial to campaign on after joining several political parties to purchase their governorship ticket to contest the Oct. 10 election in Ondo state.

    “For us in the APC, the good governance credentials of our candidate, incumbent Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu is visible to all, particularly in the area of infrastructure, agriculture, human capital development, industry, and entrepreneurship, among others.

    “This is the focus of our well received campaigns.

    ‘’Gov. Akeredolu’s first-term administration has ensured prudency, accountability, transparency and blocked leakages which has ultimately enhance good governance.

    “Ondo State has witnessed unprecedented and massive infrastructural developments, culminating in over 300 kilometres of critical roads being constructed and rehabilitated,” Nabena said.

    According to him, Ondo state is one of the model states that is successfully domesticating and implementing the diversification and agriculture drive of the APC government with over 6,000 trained “Agripreneurs”.

    He said that the Ondo people had confidence in Gov. Akeredolu, who signed into law, a contributory health insurance scheme which enables all classes of people in the state have access to affordable health care services.

    Nabena added that under Gov. Akeredolu, the people of Ondo state were better off and were poised to overwhelmingly return him to continue his administration’s good work, come Oct. 10.

  • Ondo 2020: Akeredolu, Mimiko trade words over guber poll

    Ondo 2020: Akeredolu, Mimiko trade words over guber poll

    The October 10, 2020 governorship election in Ondo State has become a tug-of-war between the incumbent governor and candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, and his predecessor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

    With just 12 days to the guber poll, the cord of four decades’ old friendship is being strained by politics as Mimiko, who is the national leader of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), has pitched his tent with the current deputy governor, Agboola Ajayi.

    Ajayi defiled all odds by ditching his boss and the APC to contest the poll under ZLP as a potent third force, with a rising popularity across the 3009 units, 203 wards and 18 councils of the state.

    However, Governor Akeredolu feels unmoved by the alliance with his old friend and predecessor, Mimiko, whose association within ZLP he described as “spent force” and “a car without engine.”

    His Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Donald Ojogo, argues that the outcome of the election would spell doom for the political career of the former governor.

    According to Ojogo, “I think it will be a misplacement for anybody to even aver that the governor in his position as the APC governorship candidate feels threatened by the incessant onslaught by his friend and immediate predecessor since the campaign began. We do not believe that we have any reason to feel threatened. We also do not believe that the former governor, who today is the national leader of ZLP, has the capacity and ability to pose any threat to Governor Akeredolu. So many indices abound to also back up my argument.

    “First, here is a man, who as a two-term governor and after spending eight years, could not muster enough goodwill to even install a successor. Here is a two-term governor, who after his inability to install a successor four years down the line, wanted to go to Senate, but couldn’t even secure victory in any of the local governments in the Central Senatorial zone.

    “That shows that Mimiko, who today is a patron of the party, does not pose any threat to us. In any case, we understand his predicament; we understand his pains; we understand the reasons responsible for the onslaught.

    But Mimiko fired back at a recent rally in the state, saying, “Your government is anti-people,” expressing disappointment over the performance of his successor.

    Mimiko, while canvassing for votes for the ZLP governorship candidate and deputy governor, Agboola Ajayi, at Ile-Oluji, Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo Local Government Area of the state, at the weekend, said Akeredolu had inflicted much hardship on the people. He decried the cancellation of free health, social protection programmes like Mother and Child policy and increase in tuition fees in tertiary institutions in the state, just to mention a few.

    The former governor noted that he had worked with three governors before becoming governor for eight years, stressing that the present administration has failed to deliver dividend of democracy to the people. According to him, the government of Akeredolu’s claim to performance is nothing but falsehood as all indices show otherwise.

    According to him, “There is no person that will say he has not performed. But how do we differentiate performance? Any government that has not democratised education is a bad government. This government that hiked school fee is a bad government. Akeredolu’s government is an enemy of the people. Anybody that votes Akeredolu is selling his children’s future.

    “Any government that does not make health free is your enemy. Akeredolu’s government is an enemy of the people by cancelling mother and child and free health for children. Any time they come here to campaign for votes ask him, ‘where is our shuttle buses? Where is our abiye?’ The government that cancelled trauma centre is your enemy.”

    The former governor bemoaned the failure of his successor and the APC-led government to build on the successes recorded in the health and education sectors during his tenure as governor. Mimiko also expressed dismay at the cancellation of the accident emergency scheme, which was established by his administration to reduce the number of deaths on express roads around Ondo State.

    He urged the people to vote out APC and Akeredolu-led government by voting for Ajayi and his running mate, Gboye Adegbenro as governor and deputy governor on the platform of the ZLP.

    But the Special Assistant to Governor Akeredolu on New Media, Mr. Olabode Olatunde, retorted to Mimiko’s claims thus, “It’s on record that Governor Akeredolu, since inception in office, has not sacked anyone in the state workforce, either at the local or state level. It’s unfortunate that a governor that sacked over 10,000 workers in Ondo Atate is calling the Akeredolu-led administration an anti-people government.

    “Those lecturers that were sacked unjustly at the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, and Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, are still alive to bear witness to the anti-people government of Mimiko in this state.

    “These workers were only reinstated by Governor Akeredolu. Because of politics, Mimiko killed the Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa (OAUSTECH). What’s more anti-people than the actions of Mimiko in abandoning the various projects left behind by the late Olusegun Agagu?

    “The Akeredolu administration came and realised Mimiko only had two Mother and Child hospitals in the state. Governor Akeredolu has now expanded from two to seven and they are now across the three senatorial district of the state.

    “As we speak, work is ongoing at the Teaching Hospital, both in Ondo and Akure. Akeredolu has introduced the Contributory Health Scheme, which has also brought about free health care service for children under the age of five and pregnant women.

    “So, on health, Governor Akeredolu has surpassed Mimiko in achievements, just as the Akeredolu administration has recorded significant stride in education and people’s welfare.”

  • Ondo 2020: Agboola’s candidacy boosted as Mimiko’s ZLP pulls massive rally in Ore[Photos]

    Ondo 2020: Agboola’s candidacy boosted as Mimiko’s ZLP pulls massive rally in Ore[Photos]

    Ondo State Deputy Governor and the Governorship candidate of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Agboola Ajayi and Engr Gboye Adegbenro, his running mate, on Saturday flagged their campaign for the 2020 Ondo governorship election today, Saturday, September 19, 2020.

    The rally which is streamed live on various online channels and radio stations in Ondo state is the first grand rally of Ajayi and Adegbenro, a former Commissioner for Works in the state, as ZLP candidates.

    The immediate past Governor of the state, Dr Olusegun Mimiko who is also the national leader of the ZLP will be leading the party’s campaign that will be based on issues ranging from the restoration of socio-democratic programmes – free health care, abiye safe motherhood, quality and affordable education in the primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, among many other life-enriching programmes of the past government.

    See photos, video:

  • Ondo 2020: I won’t reply Akeredolu now – Mimiko

    Ondo 2020: I won’t reply Akeredolu now – Mimiko

    A former governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko has said he will not respond to the various allegations levelled against him by the incumbent, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu until the governorship campaigns begin.

    Mimiko said this on Sunday in Ondo town when he hosted the Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi, at his residence.

    Ajayi had defected to the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) in the hope of clinching the party’s gubernatorial ticket for the Oct. 10 election.

    Earlier, Akeredolu had decried the abandoned projects by the previous administration in the state, describing this as a disgrace to governance and a disservice to the people.

    Akeredolu spoke while inaugurating four projects completed by his administration at the Agagu University of Science and Technology (OSAUSTECH), Okitipupa.

    Mimiko, however, said the time to compare his government with that of his successor, had not come.

    He said any party or government that would not meet the needs of the masses at the point of their yearnings was not progressive.

    According to Mimiko, ZLP is the only party that loves helping the poor to achieve their dreams.

    Mimiko, who described the deputy governor as a seasoned politician, added that ” all his good and bad sides we know, we do not expect surprises.”

    The former governor thanked Ajayi for joining ZLP, describing him and his followers as true progressives.

  • Ondo 2020: Akeredolu speaks on dragging ex-gov Mimiko to EFCC

    Ondo 2020: Akeredolu speaks on dragging ex-gov Mimiko to EFCC

    Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has denied social media reports that he has concluded plans to drag his predecessor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Governor Akeredolu said he never threatened to expose Mimiko, whom he described as a friend of over four decades to the EFCC.

    Recall that TheNewsGuru.com, TNG earlier reported how the state Deputy Governor, Hon. Agboola Ajayi who has since fell out with his boss (Akeredolu) was finalising plans to join ex-governor Mimiko’s Zenith Labour Party after losing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket to Eyitayo Jegede, a former commissioner in Mimiko’s administration.

    Akeredolu said the reports were untrue, puerile and utterly mischievous.

    He described such reports as cleverly laid path for two friends to engage in a needless mudslinging.

    The Ondo Governor who spoke through is Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, said it was not his desire “to travel such pernicious path typical of those who have taken the route of perfidy for sake of their political ambitions.

    “We have since wished them well even in their self-inflicted tears of treachery and betrayal.

    “Clearly too, the former Governor, in Governor Akeredolu’s view, is well acquainted with the antecedents of those who have chosen to embrace any straw, including those they had mindlessly plotted against in the past, to keep their waning political comfort zones afloat.

    “Nonetheless, while Governor Akeredolu has nothing against his friend and immediate past predecessor, he has chosen to allow posterity to intercede and interpret the roles of men in whatever form.

    “In this regard, the friendship of the duo shall remain unaffected by the current political permutations, alignments and realignment, however impotently strange. Governor Akeredolu shall maintain that cordiality even in the face of opportunism.

    “It must, however, be noted that Governor Akeredolu remains unperturbed by forces of whatever colouration. He is resolute and unwavering in his belief that a more debilitating defeat awaits those who have chosen to travel the route of conspiracy come October 10, 2020.”

  • I’ll work against Akeredolu’s reelection, he’s Ondo’s worst governor ever, says ex-SSG

    I’ll work against Akeredolu’s reelection, he’s Ondo’s worst governor ever, says ex-SSG

    After the resignation of Mr Sunday Abegunde, as Secretary to the Ondo State Government, the governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, appointed Mr Tayo Oluwatuyi, as a replacement.

    Akeredolu announced Oluwatuyi at the weekly media briefing in Akure, the state capital on Monday.

    Abegunde had resigned through a letter that partly read, “I, Hon. Ifedayo Sunday Abegunde, the Secretary to the State Government of Ondo State hereby tender my letter of resignation.

    “I want to thank Mr Governor for giving me the opportunity to serve the Government and people of Ondo State.”

    However, Abegunde later granted an interview in Yoruba language on Crest FM, during which he said he resigned from office because of the ill-treatment meted out to him by the governor.

    He said, “I suffered in his (Akeredolu) administration because he didn’t release any fund to my office. He has been telling lies that he was giving me N5m every month even when he knew he didn’t give me such money.

    “Akeredolu didn’t win the election in 2016 but we made it possible for him to become governor. We were the pillars behind him and we will not support him again. He will lose this time around.”

    Abegunde, a two-term member of the House of Representatives further said that he resigned because he could no longer be part of a government that made its subjects to pass through hardship.

  • TNG analysis [Ondo 2020]: Burden of an incumbent governor seeking reelection from self-isolation

    TNG analysis [Ondo 2020]: Burden of an incumbent governor seeking reelection from self-isolation

    Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, and his campaign team are now grappling with how to sell his reelection bid amid disturbing waves frustrating his chances of becoming the toast of the town and pushing him to lose ground to opponents in his aspirations to lead Ondo for another term.

    Before Akeredolu announced his Covid-19 status on Tuesday, Aketi, as he is popularly called by his admirers on campaign fronts, hardly gets quality mentions in the media space when compared with the grand newsworthiness and dramas that catapulted his counterpart in Edo, Godwin Obaseki, from All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a clear indication of Aketi’s wobbling and uninteresting campaign.

    Though Akeredolu wields the power of incumbency in Ondo, he is, however, as a result of his poor political sagacity losing traction even among his core constituencies.

    1. Akeredolu’s Covid-19 status: Burden of an incumbent leading re-election bid from self-isolation

    Considering the intermittent twists and turns of politics, especially as regards Nigeria where electoral decisions and processes are fraught with much more volatility, to head a governorship campaign from self-isolation is a hook in the throat of Akeredolu’s campaign team.

    Bracing up to the new challenge, the governor who disclosed his Covid-19 status in a broadcast widely circulated on social media has assured his people that he will continue to perform his official duties from his self-isolation

    His exact words, “Let me assure our people that the work is going on here at home I will be attending to files which are the normal thing I do and there is nothing that will stop work from going on.

    “I want to plead with my political associates that they should continue with the project we are sure to win. “As you know, I am gifted to get through to my destination, knowing that I am a man with special gifts, and my trust in God to get through this is unshaken.”

    While we observe how politics will subsequently unfold in Ondo as Akeredolu rules from isolation, time will tell if the outcome will be favourable for the Aketi’s ahead of the governorship election in the state.

    2. Estranged Deputy Governor

    Another apparent hole in Akeredolu’s re-election bid is his frosty relationship with his deputy, Agboola Ajayi, who recently decamped to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) but was able to keep his position.

    As a governor who has zero capability to influence his lawmakers, Akeredolu finds it difficult to expel his deputy, who is now a thorn in the flesh of Aketi’s journey for a second term ambition.

    Things got uglier for Akeredolu after he slipped into the confinement of Covid-19, and his deputy started pressuring him to hand over government pending the time he recovered from the virus.

    Akeredolu swiftly reacted on the issue of Ajayi running the state’s affairs as he battles the deadly virus, he said the idea of handing over power to his deputy should be buried, noting that he (Ajayi) had exhibited traits of a betrayer.

    Reacting to the position of the governor, Mr Ajayi said “ordinarily, one expects Mr Governor to bring to the front burner the background of his profession as a lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, (SAN) but surprisingly, the Governor has chosen this perversion of justice… ”

    The deputy governor, who reacted on the matter through his media adviser, Allen Sowore, on Saturday furthered: “Section 190(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) is apposite in this circumstances. On our part, we will continue to pray fervently for Mr Governor’s quickest recovery. However, it should be noted that Mr Governor is at liberty to handover or not within 21 days after which the constitution becomes operational.

    3: MIMIKO: An undeniable force to reckon with in Ondo

    To date, the enigmatic role the former Governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko plays in Ondo’s politics remains unparalleled. This phenomenal Ondo politician, who is nicknamed ‘Iroko’, a large tropical western African tree is undoubtedly rooted in the heart of Ondo people and has one of the largest political support bases in the state.

    In 2016, Akeredolu had an easy ride to power only because his major challenger at the time, Eyitayo Jegede of Peoples Democratic Congress, who was backed by Mimiko was troubled by the legal battles with Jimoh Ibrahim, over the legality of his candidacy as a PDP flag bearer.

    Despite the obscurity of Jegede in politics and the burden of the legal war with Jimoh Ibrahim, which slowed his campaign in 2016, he was still able to put up a good show in the election. Recall court granted him a delayed justice (two days to the election) that denied him the opportunity to sell himself, all thanks to Mimiko who was able to save him from an abysmal outing.

    More intriguing is the slant among political analysts that Mimiko eventually consolidated Akeredolu’s emergence as governor, a last-minute decision he was said to have made as a back-up to the cracks in Jegede’s campaign at the said time.

    If not then, Mimiko after his exit had given more support to the Akeredolu-led government in several capacities.

    However, the failure of Akeredolu to return the favour from Mimiko made supporters of Iroko build their tents far from the Aketi’s, again, this further dwindles Akeredolu’s political influence and favours his opponents in the governorship race.

    Noting Akeredolu’s lapses, Oyo State governor, Mr Seyi Makinde, who is regarded as the leader of the PDP in the region, recently led some members of the party to Ondo home of the former governor Mimiko to solicit for his support in the election.

    The details of the meeting which was held between the two political leaders and some other PDP leaders to pacify Mimiko to support the PDP candidate in the election, this romance will dangerously affect Akeredolu’s reelection plans.

    Mimiko was a member of the PDP before he dumped the party for Zenith Labour Party, (ZLP) after his second term in office in 2017.

    4. FAMILY AFFAIRS, non-inclusive government

    Since the day he was sworn into office, Akeredolu never denied placing more priority on his household interest at the expense of the state’s machinery or his political group ( house of assembly, cabinet, APC members).

    Nicknamed in the streets as ‘One-family-government’, unapologetic Aketi and his wife, Betty have both argued with critics who accused him (Aketi) of running Ondo state like a family affair.

    One good example was when he (Aketi) addressed the criticism that his son Babajide, handles most of the projects in the state.
    In March, while speaking in Akure during a dinner organised in commemoration of his third anniversary as governor, Akeredolu while justifying his actions told critics his son worked harder than most members of the campaign.

    His words: “When somebody says Baba (Babajide) is this, I just laugh at them. If I wanted to make Baba my chief of staff, he can be; did you do more than him in the campaign? Ask yourself, how many of you did more than Baba in the campaign? How many?” he asked.

    “The young boy was going everywhere and all of us saw him but we decided not to because he wouldn’t want it. My son is satisfied, that’s why. If he is not, I will put him somewhere, there is nothing anybody can do. I will put him there, there is nothing you can do. Is he not my son? Is he not from Ondo state? Has he not worked?”

    Utterances like the one stated above damaged the perception the public holds about the Akeredolu-led government and even divided those in his core support group.

    5. First hurdle: Getting the party’s ticket

    In the build-up to the October 10, 2020 governorship election in Ondo State, aspirants of the APC are working hard to surmount all hurdles to win the election for the party. The race to get the party’s ticket is not limited to the 10 aspirants, who had earlier formed an accord to wrest power from the incumbent governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu. The governor, too, is battling tooth and nail with forces within and outside the state to retain his seat.

    Though not unusual of any governor seeking a second term, Akeredolu seems to be affected on all sides by political adversaries who have sworn to stop his re-election bid and end his tenure in February 2021. Aside from the political opponents in Unity Forum, a medley of APC bigwigs opposed to the governor across the 203 wards due to the 2016 governorship fallout, are also on his case, in addition with the national leadership of the party.

    Governor Akeredolu, especially after his colleague in the struggle against the former chairman Oshiomloe, Obaseki, was screened out of the primary election in Edo State, had found uncommon peace with the party’s leadership. The dissolution of APC NWC by President Muhammadu Buhari at a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting last Thursday sent some jitters down the spines of some members and guber aspirants of the party in Ondo.

    Though with the suspension of APC’s National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole and the subsequent dissolution of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, it would appear Akeredolu has been handed some advantage over his bitter rivals in Unity Forum faction in Ondo APC.

    But, the Unity Forum members are yet to relent, the group presented a donation of N22.5 million to the consensus governorship candidate, Chief Olusola Oke, to obtain his nomination form in Abuja.

    The leadership of the group explained that the candidate emerged through a free and fair process, though eight other aspirants in the group rejected the choice of Oke. A former deputy governor of the state and member of APC Board of Trustees (BoT), Ali Olanusi, who was represented by the former House of Representatives member, Afe Olowokere, presented the donation to support Oke’s ambition.

  • Covid-19: FG must start thinking of producing manual ventilators – Mimiko

    Covid-19: FG must start thinking of producing manual ventilators – Mimiko

    Olusegun Mimiko, the immediate past governor of Ondo State has asked Nigeria and Nigerians to look inwards as it faces the COVID-19 challenge.

    Mimiko in a statement tagged ‘Just thinking aloud’ released in Akure on Tuesday said the time is now for Nigerians to prepare for the worst-case scenario and look inwards to carve out its own peculiar strategies.

    Mimiko who said the President’s recent address should give added momentum to the combat against the killer virus, added that the most crucial equipment at the clinical stage is the mechanical ventilator, the scarcity of which is now global – “obviously, Nigeria does not have enough to match a population of 200 million people”

    He counseled that Nigeria, while trying to procure more of this life-saving gadget which are hardly available anyway, should “start mobilizing massively for manual ventilators and start training paramedics who may be called to use them as instruments of last resort in emergency.”

    In his words, “Even New York is already making arrangements in case it needs to go through that route.

    “I am sure that if we ransack medical stores in hospitals around the country, we may be able to retrieve a lot of old fashioned manual ventilators that can be fixed for use and also important to serve as a prototype for local production,” he said.

    Mimiko further adds that “local companies like Innoson Motors, though may face challenges trying to produce modern type mechanical ventilators because of sophisticated softwares and sophisticated electronic parts, will produce any type of manual ventilators quickly as would other similar or related local industries, if challenged.

    “After all, the basic principle of most types of ventilators, positive pressure creators, is more or less the same as that of time honored bellows that our traditional smiths were so dexterous at”

    He expressed doubts about any effort by government official to engage Innoson since their reported claim to have the capacity to produce ventilators.

    He therefore recommends “immediate engagement of Innoson and such other concern as could quickly manufacture manual ventilators.
    “Simultaneously, we must start mobilizing our local capacity and start building oxygen plants for what may turn out to be an astronomical demand”

    The former Governor stressed that social distancing is a major way to stop further spread of the virus. “May I state that in light of our obvious limited capacity to test, trace or treat or cope in case of a blowout, social or more correctly, physical distancing remains, the best arrow in our quiver”

    He added that the troubling issue is how to sustain a stay at home order when perhaps up to 40 percent of our adult population earn their daily bread on daily basis.

    “We are quick to complain of lack of data, but we have BVN. I’m told we have 40billion BVN accounts. Adopting a benchmark of say annual turn over of say below 360,000 Naira needing palliative, and assuming that up to 50 percent, i.e. 20million qualify for palliative, say 20,000 Naira each, that will amount to just about 40billion Naira which we must find! This is without prejudice to other commendable palliatives like cash transfers, trader Moni etc. Alignment of data base, I am assured, will quickly ensure nobody benefits twice” Mimiko said.

    While appreciating Governors “that are already trying to provide food palliatives to households, Mimiko said “leveraging digital tech will surely help” saying “In 2016, in Ondo State, we delivered food palliatives to about 150,000 households, seamlessly in 3weeks!”

    Mimiko commended frontline workers, the federal ministry of health and the NCDC.

  • Aregbesola, Mimiko, Falana, others attend Ofeimun’s 70th birthday lecture

    Aregbesola, Mimiko, Falana, others attend Ofeimun’s 70th birthday lecture

    Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana and former governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko on Monday in Lagos attended the 70th birthday lecture in honour renowned poet and author, Odia Ofeimun.

     

    Aregbesola who chaired the conference held at the University of Lagos with the theme, “Taking Nigeria Seriously in speech said that intellectuals, writers and poets at the best of times are not well materially endowed as a result of the economic dependent category they belong to, and as such the gathering cannot but stimulate cogitation on the plight of writers, poets and intellectuals in a challenging economy. ‘’

    Aregbesola noted that contrary to popular assumption, that Nigeria was not rich, although has huge untapped potential to be among the richest in the world, the poverty evidently has been the result of its burgeoning non-qualitative and non-productive population, which regrettably and ironically has impacted badly on writers who devote their lifetime chronicling the challenges of the nation and working hard on how to overcome them.

    Also speaking at the event, former Ondo State governor noted that the unemployment situation in the country ”speaks to the poor state of the economy”.

    “Again, you don’t need to tell anybody that the economy in Nigeria has failed,” he said. “The level of failure of our economy is on the streets.”

    Mr Mimiko said that irrespective of what the Nigerian bureau of statistics says about unemployment, if everything is factored into the mix, graduate unemployment should be “more than eighty per cent.”

    “That’s why there is cultism, there is violence,” the former governor said.

    “The young ones have no Biodun Jeyifos, no G.G Daras, there is no Osofisan to look up to. They only look up to Marley… Marley Naira or whatever.”

    An excited Ofeimun in his appreciation remarks thanked the dignitaries and guests for attending the epoch-making event.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B91BO_SDcXr/

     

     

     

    “I am happy that all of you are here to see me at 70.I am glad to be here at 70.I always wish to be an old man. They told my mother when I was young that I won’t last long. She was so frightened. She spent her moments trying to get a second son. It became my responsibility to try to be something bigger that one son could have been”.

    Reputed literary scholar, Biodun Jeyifo, Popular veteran actress, Taiwo Ajayi Lycett also graced the occasion.

     

  • Osinbajo, Akeredolu, Fayemi, others pay tributes as Mimiko buries mum

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on Friday, advised Nigerians to always contribute their quota to the development of the country.

    Osinbajo gave the advice at the final burial ceremony of Muniat Deborah Mimiko, mother of former governor of Ondo state, Olusegun Mimiko, in Ondo town.

    The final burial ceremony of the late Muniat Mimiko, mother of former governor of Ondo state was witnessed by personalities from all walks of life.

    The Civic Centre, Ondo,venue of the ceremony was packed to the brim by politicians who came to pay their last respects to Mimiko’s late mum. Irrespective of their political leanings,they all came to identify with the Mimiko’s.

    Osinbajo, who was one of the special guests at the event described the deceased as a woman who contributed her quota to the development of the country.

    Other eminent Nigerians who graced the event were, Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, Ekiti governor, Kayode Fayemi, the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs,Tayo Alasoadura, Olusola Oke, Ife Oyedele, Secretary to Ondo state government, Ifedayo Abegunde (Abena) among others.