NO AGREEMENT TO CHANGE PARTY,
WE ARE HAPPY WHERE WE ARE – MIMIKO
Against the accusation that he betrayed the Action Congress of Nigeria by not campaigning for the Party in the forthcoming general elections, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko has declared that neither he nor his party had any agreement with anybody or party and also expressing his determination to serve the people more. This assertion was made during the monthly interactive programme, The Governor Speaks aired on media stations across the state and anchored by Ladi Akeredolu Ale, Director General, Ondo State Radiovision Corporation (OSRC). Excerpts:
On his administration’s achievements and celebration of 2 years in office:
Over the last three weeks or so of going round to commission projects, the reaction of our people is so exciting. The type of feelings I get from the people, I can’t exchange it for anything. I can see people who are joyful and happy, showing that their expectations of good governance and for responsive governance had not been dashed. People now see government as their own in terms of execution of projects that have direct impact on the lives of the people.
The other exciting part of my tour across the state is that we have also taken time to commission some local governments executed projects. It is exciting that there is a paradigm shift in quality of projects executed by these local governments. The local governments have keyed into our own new job efforts in terms of quality of job in the aspect of quality delivery. Projects executed by local governments in the state are now of international standards.
I give all glory to God that 2 years after, people are still excited with this administration the way they were at inauguration.
I cannot get tired working with the kind of response I get from the people. It energises me and keep me going on and on and on. You cannot imagine how much our people appreciate the little you do for them
Reasons why his administration is investing in market construction:
Markets in most Yoruba settings are next to the palace of traditional rulers. The market is the centre of commerce. It is central to the lives of our people. If there is any place that is being visited daily by everybody, it is the market. Then, why should we leave our market as if they are meant for animals and not humans? Why is it that during the raining season, you have to think twice to muster the courage to go to the market? Why is it that the woman that is more or less the engine room of the activities of the society are already disadvantaged by reason of their gender and financial economic control at home level? Why must we confine them to those so called dirty markets?
On efforts to revive ailing industries and creation of new ones:
The problem faced in the efforts to revive the industries is generating of power. Without electricity or power no industry can be competitive. Our poised to building our own gas plant to generate our own power as part of efforts to industrialise the state. We are already signing agreement with foreign companies to build our own gas plant to generate power for all the industries in the state to be competitive and not run on generators.
On the accusation by oppositions that projects executed are high in cost and amount to waste:
We are focusing on deliverables and we are deploying our resources very efficiently. I’m always on the street monitoring the projects. So, what we have is efficient management of resources.
Some people may have miniature or micro-vision but I have said it clearly, everything we are doing, we are benchmarking Ondo State for Africa. The Mother and Child hospital has been declared by the world body as the best practice adoptable, if maternal and infant mortality must be tackled. By the time our mega schools are ready, they would be like no other school in Nigeria. And when we must have leave the stage, no one will come and build anything less.
The people voted for me because of the vision I sold them. I said I want to run Ondo State as the ‘Best Run State’ in Nigeria. I want to make it the cynosure of all eyes. I don’t want the state to be a cynosure of all eyes by building bush rats schools. I want to build a new generation of schools and expand the horizon of our people.
On the forthcoming general elections:
For my party, Labour Party, the campaign has been made easy for us. The people of Ondo State are enlightened. You cannot deceive them. Our major opposition has been there for 6 years and placing us side by side with them, the people can judge themselves. The electorates are better and smarter than what most politicians think they were. Let your work speak for you.
You cannot cow our people anymore through brigandage. Let me appeal to politicians across party lines, ‘Let us have a free and fair election”. The people don’t want to go back to Egypt. We have had peace for the past two years in Ondo State and the people don’t want to go back to the old days of violence and thuggery. What they want is a free and fair election.
And on the role of money in politics, the more you have good governance the less the role of money. I speak for myself and for my party. If you go to NEPA market, will you bribe the women their to let them know their lives have changed? A woman that went to Mother and child and deliver safely in a healthy and safe environment cannot be bribed to think otherwise.
The more you have good governance, the more people see the nexus between their interest and governance, the less the role of money in politics. The role of money in Ondo State politics is diminishing over time.
On political alignment at State and national level and the accusation of betrayal:
Let me state it clearly that at no time, either as a party or an individual did I enter into agreement with anybody to change party. We are happy with the way we are.
I once moved from Alliance for Democracy (AD) to People’s Democratic Party (PDP), people moved with me because they understood the circumstances and why I had to move. When they shut the door on me and they shot it too arrogantly. People saw why we had to move.
Then I moved from PDP to Labour Party again when everybody knew the circumstances that the owners of the party, those I refer to ‘Emperors’, said on their dead body will I become governor and I say look, you can have your party, fortunately there are over 50 political parties. And now I’ll just wake up again and say I want to move. It is just like I’m taking the people for granted. We are happy where we are as Labour Party and we are not going anywhere.
Still on Election 2011 and voters:
It is absolutely clear that INEC has adopted the modified open ballot system. The procedure states that accreditation takes place between 8am and 12noon. At 12 after the last voter has been accredited, we all queue up and proceed to vote in secret. Secret meaning no other person will be able to see what you are marking but it will be in the open.
At the end of that exercise we all wait and the votes will be counted and result read out to us. And even a copy of the result is supposed to be posted on the wall. Then we can go home. Some may even decide, from a decent distance from INEC officials to escort the result to collation centre.
I also think it is ill advice that you cannot use camera phone on Election Day. That is an instrument of transparency. It is an anti-rigging device; and I’m sure this issue will be taking up with the Inspector General of Police. Even, information reaching me says that INEC is not happy about that pronouncement. It is not illegal to use camera phone. It will only promote transparency. And we have said it before, there should be a limit to the number of policemen attached to National assembly members or any public office holders on election day.
