Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo |
by Sunday
Aborisade
The
Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, on Saturday, said he supported
Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State because he approached him to be his
vice-chairmanship candidate at the election of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum.
Mimiko
said this in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Eni Akinsola.
Mimiko
said he was surprised when the camp of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State
also picked him as its candidate for the same position without his consent.
The
statement said, “Mimiko had earlier been approached by Jang’s group to contest
as the vice-chairmanship candidate and he agreed. He was surprised when he
entered the venue of the election and saw his name on the list of Amaechi’s
camp also as the vice-chairmanship candidate.
“Confused
by this development, Mimiko announced that he was stepping down as the
vice-chairmanship candidate to Ameachi to avoid uproar since he was already in
Jang’s camp.
“Mimiko
thought it wise then to step down from Amaechi’s camp in the interest of
democracy and fairness because it was Jang and not Amaechi, who approached him
first.”
Besides,
the Ondo State governor said he and other governors made efforts to convince
Amaechi on the need to make the process free, fair, transparent and credible,
but that the pleas fell on deaf ears.
He
said, “For instance, the election was to be conducted through a secret ballot
arrangement and the sitting chairman refused to dissolve the house and allow a
neutral body to conduct the poll.
“Apart
from that, the way they carried out the entire arrangement suggested that
Amaechi and his group had a predetermined agenda of some anti-Jonathan
politicians which he was desperate to implement.”
Mimiko
said he and some governors walked out of the venue when it was glaring that
Amaechi would declare himself as the winner of the election.
He
added, “Why the confusion had yet to be resolved, the Director-General of the
Governors’ Forum came up with ballot papers which he distributed to members.
But pro-Jang governors protested and walked out of the venue. There would have
been uproar if that decision was not taken.”
Mimiko
said he read a communiqué on Saturday after a meeting with 18 of his colleagues
in Abuja where he confirmed himself as the vice-chairman of the forum.
The
statement added, “More than 18 governors would have attended the press
conference addressed by Mimiko if some of them had not left Abuja before the
notice for the press conference was sent out.”
He
said prior to the election, all governors from the North had adopted Jang as
consensus candidate after Governor Yisa Yuguda had stepped down while the
Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum also adopted Jang.
Mimiko
said he was convinced that Ameachi’s group was enjoying support from the
opposition parties who were bent on dividing the NGF.
Culled
from PUNCH
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