Mimiko’s Defection: Ondo PDP Refuses To Shift Ground

Controversy has continued to trail the defection of Ondo state governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko from the Labour Party to the People’s Demoratic Party (PDP).

The PDP has said that it will not restructure to accommodate Mimiko and his teeming supporters. To resolve the crisis, the National working committee (NWC) of the PDP entered into negotiations with Mimiko but the local PDP has refused to budge.

The party’s Director of Publicity, Mr. Ayo Fadaka in a statement, titled: ‘Ondo PDP’s Reaction to Mimiko’s Defection,’ said the entire process leading to the governor’s defection did not involve the state chapter of the party.

“We note the fact that the governor of Ondo State decamped from his LP to our party on October 2, in a small ceremony in the Presidential Villa and as such want to use this opportunity to welcome him to our party.

“We also want to bring to the fore our total discomfort and displeasure to the manner his carpet-crossing was managed by selected leaders of the party at the national level who midwifed the process and did so with a lot of disrespect to the state party chairman and members of the State Working Committee.

“We believe that this action is calculated to treat the entire members of this party as inconsequential and of little or no consequence in the fortune of our own party. Therefore, we declare that this is grossly unfair and so reject outrightly all negotiations purportedly entered to on our behalf without our direct input and blessings.

“Therefore, we state in the most unequivocal manner that we repose absolute confidence in the executives of the party at every level in the state and will take serious exceptions to any action taken directly or indirectly to harm or dismantle them,”

“We also state that we welcome Mimiko and his followers to the party in their individual capacities, we also respect the constitution of the PDP particularly the recognition that it confers on any governor who is a member, however we remain mindful of the fact that he (Mimiko) is joining as a governor.
We say this because PDP is a big party with established structures that must not be treated anyhow.

We also understand that Governor Mimiko’s publicly stated that the goal of decamping into our party is to enable him contribute effectively to the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan, we must say this is appreciable but as citizens of Ondo State, we do know that Mimiko currently carries a lot of baggage and liabilities that precludes him from discharging such responsibility.
“He has since descended from that charismatic height he operated from in 2009 when he became governor to a level of scorn as it is known to the generality of our people that his administration has mismanaged our finances and commonwealth most recklessly, took our state from the level of economic buoyancy to a debtor state where public utilities no longer work.

“Most disappointing of all is the now emerging trend of the inability of government to pay workers’ salaries again as at when due and even owing two months salaries now. This we consider a baggage and liability that will do great harm to the electoral prospects of President Goodluck Jonathan than any good. Again, we underscore the fact that Mimiko is conscious of the fact that he and his party can no longer win any election in our state, hence we say that his defection to our party is inelegant as far as political calculations in our state is concerned,” he added.