Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State Thursday formally dumped the Labour Party for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Present at a well attended declaration event held at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja, were Vice President Namadi Sambo and the leadership of the PDP.
Mimko said he was rejoining the PDP alongside Federal Lawmakers from the State, members of the House of Assembly and members of the State Executive Council.
According to him, the decision to return to the PDP family arose “After a period of consultation with major stakeholders in Ondo State, which include the aforementioned as well as traditional and religious leaders, market men and women, artisans, trade unions and community as well as party leaders.
He declared, “It is in the light of the foregoing that I, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, following extensive consultations across the land, today formally announce the decision of members of National Assembly from the LP in Ondo State, members of the LP in the Ondo State House of Assembly, members of the State Executive Council and indeed all those who share our aspirations, to join the PDP.
‘I must confess that it surely was tempting and perhaps more fulfilling to continue as a national leader in our smaller, calmer and quite promising ocean represented by the Labour Party.
“But this decision to return to the PDP, we have taken in the overall interest of our people and our nation, and its democracy which for those who are perceptive enough to notice, is now mortally endangered by a constellation of forces which must be confronted.
“May I then add, that we take this epochal decision conscious of the fact that no political party in Nigeria today is anywhere near the point of perfection. But we are persuaded that joining hands with other Nigerians, committed as they are at repositioning the PDP on a continual basis, is the appropriate thing to do today.
“And considering that it was under this same PDP that I was privileged to serve, first as Secretary to the Government of Ondo State and later as Minister of Housing and Urban Development from July 2005 – December 2006, this is for us a homecoming of sort”, he said.
Governor Mimiko also praised President Goodluck Jonathan for leaving up to his words of transforming critical sectors of the nation’s economy from agriculture, transportation to small businesses.
He spoke further about the rich credentials of President Jonathan, which made the Labour Party members joined the PDP so at to be able to massively mobilize for him as he seeks re-election in 2015.
Mimiko said, “It is on record that soon after he became president, Dr. Jonathan made a public commitment to ensure that elections in our country become and remain free and fair. Of course, it is trite to aver that without a credible electoral process, Nigeria’s, and indeed, any country’s programme of democratization remains but a mere mirage.
“Four years on, and with at least four governorship elections held, it is evident that Mr. President has shown fidelity to his solemn commitment on clean elections. Notwithstanding the fact that his party was always a strong contender in all of the gubernatorial elections conducted under his watch, President Jonathan has kept his words.
“Any doubt about the President’s democratic credentials, must have been sufficiently erased with the recent Osun State governorship election. Though the stakes were considered to be quite high, Mr. President, against all temptations, chose not to influence the process.
“He chose to keep his words. Thus, even when the President’s party lost the election, President Jonathan, as he is wont to do, was quick to congratulate the winner – a deliberate effort at entrenching a democratic culture.
“It was such profound a statement of commitment to democracy that we cannot and should not wish away even in the face of tempting partisan pressures”.