A major political player in Ondo State, Dr Abbas Mimiko, has said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have failed the state in terms of delivering the dividend of democracy to the people.
Mimiko made the remark on Friday in an interview with newsmen ahead of the governorship election slated for November 16, 2024 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“The more pertinent question now is: why are those in the APC government who stood their ground when Aketi cancelled the free school shuttle bus service, the free Maternal Care and Childcare service, among a myriad of lofty, people oriented programmes of Olusegun Mimiko, saying they want to succeed Arakunrin Akeredolu?
“Again, that is for the people of Ondo State to decide.
“If performance is the factor upon which the people will decide, neither APC nor PDP will fly.
“A third force is anyone’s best bet. People are tired of being lied to by the long-existing political establishment in Ondo State.
“They need something new and promising. They want to look out for their common good by themselves, instead of surrendering their franchise to those they believe impoverish them using the instrumentality of power,” he said.
According to him, though Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has played his part, the people of Ondo State are in the best position to judge the performance of the present APC government.
The people will be the judge. What I personally admire in him is that he is a man of conviction.
“He demonstrated courage under fire on the formation of Amotekun.
“He led the Southwest Governors’ Forum to establish Amotekun, our regional security apparatus, at a time when it was risky for him to do so.
“Remember, he had his faith hanging in the Supreme Court and could easily have lost his governor’s seat.
“And we all know what the then Cabal in Aso Rock felt about the idea of Amotekun at that time. Yet Aketi stood his ground,” he said.
On what the people of Ondo State need from the next governor, Mimiko said: “Ondo State is richly endowed by God in human and natural resources. We have no excuse to continue to wallow in poverty. And our people are not asking for the moon.
“They need food security, portable water, vibrant business and investment environment to prosper, access to good education and vocational training, affordable mass housing projects, comprehensive and affordable healthcare services and a secure environment within which to prosper,” he said.
On whether he plans to contest in the election, he said he is stil keeping all the options open.
“As the political season nears, speculations are rife all over the place as per who and who are going to run or not run.
“A lot of people have approached us to consider a rescue mission for Ondo State.
“We keep all our options open, while praying for the best for our dear Sunshine state,” he said.
Mimiko, however, commended President Bola Tinubu’s efforts at changing things for the better.
“I believe President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, is the right man for the job of President and Commander-in-Chief of our country at this critical moment of our existence.
“Our economy has been so badly mismanaged over these years and we were in the doldrums.
“The man was handed an economy where 90% of revenue was going into debt servicing alone!
“In short, he was handed a country that could virtually pass for a failed state.
“But in his short time as president, he has demonstrated uncommon courage.
“Take for instance, his unification of the exchange rates, that will ensure that scarce foreign resources go to real importers of essential goods.
“He announced removal of oil subsidy on assumption of office to stem the hemorrhaging of our scarce resources in the hands of a very powerful few.
“He could simply have positioned himself to be the primary beneficiary of those scams but he put his foot down in order to resuscitate our moribund economy in the immediate and ensure its resurgence in the near future.
“He understands that we have to undergo a painful process of rebirth of a new Nigeria and he is not shying away from the tough decisions.
“He is focusing on FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) to jumpstart our economy.
“I will plead that we give him time and our wholehearted support as citizens,” he said.
He also advised Tinubu to look more inward to grow the economy as well.
“He must also, without delay focus on restructuring the country in order to unbundle and unleash the latent strength of the component nations that make up this country, which for too long has been caged and suppressed by this disingenuous unitary system that we operate.
“In summary, I see President BAT as the man for the tough job and I gave no regret to have campaigned and voted for him in the last presidential election,” he said.
