Mimiko formally declares for second term.

Exactly four years after the July 25, 2008 landmark judgment of the five-man Garba Nabaruma Election Petition Tribunal that declared him as the winner of the disputed April 17, 2007 governorship election in Ondo State, paving the way for his eventual inauguration six months later, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko yesterday signified his intention to seek re-election for a second term of office.

Addressing a mammoth crowd that included Afenifere leader, Octogenarian Reuben Fasoranti, his in-law and former Secretary to the Federal Government, Chief Olu Falae whose son, Deji, is the State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Chief Ayo Adebanjo and the leadership of organized labour in the country, Abduwaheed Omar of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Peter Esele of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mimiko said he sought re-election so that he can further entrench the state on the path of development.

Social and commercial activities were totally grounded at Akure, the state capital where the declaration took place as thousands of people decked in various types of orange-coloured attires, who were drawn from across the 18 local councils in the state, besieged the new Democracy Park in the heart of the town to witness the occasion.

In his speech titled “I Will Continue To Work For You”, the governor said “During these three and half years, we made the people of Ondo State the central focus of governance. We emplaced a string of people-oriented projects. We, by the sheer magnitude and quality of our projects, benchmarked Ondo State for Nigeria, and indeed, in many respects, for Africa.''

The high point of the colourful event was the sudden appearance of a leading governorship aspirant of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Dr. Olu Agunloye