For Olusegun Mimiko, the outgoing governor of Ondo State, Saturday governorship election was like a war.
Though he had fought many political battles before, coming out unscathed in almost all, he saw the last election as the most important political battle he needed to win in order to safeguard his political future. Iroko, as he is popularly called by his admirers, has many ‘laurels’ from the many battles he had fought in the past. He fought to retrieve his mandate from the late governor of the state, Dr. Olusegun Agagu. He won. He also fought a former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who claimed to be majorly responsible for his governorship victory. Many believed him.
Mimiko also wrestled with a former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, when the latter asked him to stay back in his cabinet as a minister and allow Agagu to have a second term in office. When he knew that the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party was not going to shield him from exile that he was going to be sent to, he quickly moved to the Labour Party from where he was elected a governor over seven years ago. It was a victory that changed his political life. Read more…
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