Labour Party rejects Mimiko as ex-governor declares for presidency

Why I left PDP, by Donald Duke

A former Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Rahman Mimiko, yesterday declared his intention to run for president on the platform of Labour Party (LP).Speaking at the Abuja National Headquarters of the LP where he made the declaration, he said if elected, his administration would focus on security, restructuring of the country and youth empowerment.

In his speech titled: Because We Care, Mimiko said: “There comes a moment in the life of a nation when every patriot must stand up to be counted. At such a moment, no person worthy of a place in history can afford to remain ensconced in his or her comfort zone.

However, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected former National Chairman of the LP, Abdulkadir Abdulsalam’s plan to adopt Mimiko as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2019 general elections.

NLC President, Ayuba Wabba and National Publicity Secretary of LP, Mrs. Ebere Ifendu, stated this at a joint media briefing yesterday in Abuja. Wabba said it was important for labour to make its position clear for the 2019 General Elections, adding: “It is not possible for Mimiko to run under the LP and we want to say no to that, as Mimiko has no business with the party.

Meanwhile, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Donald Duke, has said that he left the PDP to a party that was just reviving because the PDP lost what its symbol stands for – umbrella. Duke, a former Governor of Cross River State, disclosed this yesterday in Calabar while commissioning SDP’s state secretariat.

While lamenting over the indiscipline and impunity in the PDP, the former governor said he was out to rebuild the SDP to bring fresh leadership to the country. “People have asked me why I left the PDP and I always tell them that I left because the umbrella was breaking. The problem with the PDP was that it does automatic things automatically,” Duke said.