From TUNDE RAHEEM, Akure
Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko at the weekend lambasted the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Senator Ahmed Tinubu, advising him on the need to apply decorum anytime he is in public outings. According to him, those whose track records are in the public domain must tread cautiously. Mimiko who spoke at Okitipupa in the South senatorial district of Ondo State during the rally of the Labour Party held for his second term re-election bid stated that the people of Ondo State would not be part of a phony and deceitful integration as being preached by the leadership of the ACN in the South West.
The governor who described his achievements in the last three and a half years in office as placing the state on the path of sustainable development equally took a swipe at his predecessor in office, Dr. Olusegun Agagu. He accused Agagu of surreptitiously trying to draw back the hands of progress in the state by attempting to foist his stooge on the people. He stated that Agagu was a non-performer and challenged him to point to any major project that he did in any part of the state as proof of his much orchestrated performance.
Dr. Mimiko who described the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola as a better administrator who had shown ‘flash of brilliance in governance’ than Tinubu noted that Tinubu’s eight years in office could not match his three and a half years as governor of Ondo State. To him, the ruckus about capturing Ondo State, which he said was being better managed than any of the ACN controlled states, was a dream that would fall flat on its face. His words: “In Ondo State, the ACN is not on ground and they will meet their political waterloo here. Please, ask them what are they doing in Osun that we have not done better? In any of their states, Ondo State is better managed than them. I salute Babatunde Fashola, whatever anybody may say; he has shown a flash of brilliance in governance. But the eight years before Fashola, what did they do in Lagos? “They used eight years to build just one millennium school; we in Ondo State, in just three and a half years, have built world class mega schools all over the state.
“They talked about integration, if they want to integrate the South West, is it going to be in one person’s pockets? If that is integration, then Ondo State will never be a part of such a phony and deceitful integration. “But if it is the integration for the development of our people; to give world class education to our people; to give world class hospitals; integration to develop our public transportation; to bring development like we are doing in Ondo State for the generality of the people; oh yes, we are for it.
“But if it is integration of the pockets of one person, we will not be part of it and we are aware that the Yoruba across Ondo State and in the South West know the type of integration that they want. And it is definitely not the type of integration being preached by the leadership of the ACN.” Governor Mimiko who disclosed that he was seeking re-election based on his performance while in office described his contenders to the plum office as district officers, ill-prepared and minions of godfathers out to milk the state.
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