Mimiko Joins APC, Backs Tinubu’s Reforms
Former Governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko, has formally joined the All Progressives Congress (APC), declaring support for the reform initiatives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Mimiko was received into the ruling party on Thursday at Ward 7 in Ondo West Local Government Area of Ondo State by party executives and supporters across Ondo East and West local government areas.
Speaking during the event, the former governor said the developmental strides of the Tinubu administration influenced his decision to align with the APC.
According to him, several policies and programmes of the Federal Government were already yielding positive results across the country.
“There are a lot of good things being done by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government, though much more still has to be done,” Mimiko said.
He added that he joined the APC to support ongoing efforts aimed at sustaining peace, progress and national development in Nigeria.
Mimiko specifically praised the Federal Government’s Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) initiative, describing it as a commendable step towards expanding access to education for Nigerians.
The former governor also expressed support for ongoing efforts to decentralise policing in the country, noting that he had always been an advocate of state police.
Before joining the APC, Mimiko had resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where he had remained largely inactive in recent times.
In his resignation letter from the PDP, the former governor said he decided to formally clarify his political status after months of speculations regarding his membership of the opposition party.
Welcoming him into the APC, the Ondo State Chairman of the party, Kolawole Babatunde, described Mimiko as a progressive politician whose contributions to healthcare, education and infrastructure development in Ondo State remained remarkable.
According to Babatunde, Mimiko’s defection to the APC was “a homecoming.”
Also speaking, former member of the House of Representatives, Joseph Iranola Akinlaja, said Mimiko’s arrival in the APC signalled the complete movement of his political structure into the ruling party in Ondo State.
Akinlaja noted that many loyalists of the former governor had earlier joined the APC ahead of the last governorship election in the state.
Dignitaries at the event included the Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Olamide Oladiji, Commissioner for Infrastructure, Hon. Olawoye Ayorinde, Senator Gbenga Ogunniya, Hon. Abiola Makinde and several APC leaders and stakeholders across the state.
