The governorship candidate of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Dr. Abass Mimiko, in the forthcoming off-cycle governorship election in Ondo State, has stated that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa should not expect that President Bola Tinubu will manipulate the election in his favour.
Mimiko, who allayed the fears of the people that the election would be riddled with vote-buying, stated that the electorate should not fall for the trick that Tinubu will release funds for the All Progressives Congress (APC) solely for that purpose.
Speaking with newsmen at the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat in Akure, the state capital, the ZLP candidate, who is the younger brother of former Governor Olusegun Mimiko, disclosed that he does not need the endorsement of his elder brother to emerge victorious at the poll.
He urged the people of the state to vote for the candidate of their choice and not be intimidated by the power-of-incumbency dummy.
He said: “As it is now, because we are the third force, the PDP, APC, and Zenith Labour Party are the alternatives Ondo State has. The bane of vote-buying. First of all, let me make one thing clear. The masses of Ondo, I want them to hear us loud and clear.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not coming to rig elections for the APC. Don’t let anybody deceive you that because we are the government in power, therefore, automatically, the President will come and impose on you.
“The president wants his country to run and run successfully. And he has taken some very bold steps. It’s unfortunate that we have states like Ondo that are not seizing the momentum.
“Speaking on my brother’s endorsement. I don’t want him to give me any endorsement. What I need is the people, the endorsement of the masses, and the people of Ondo State. I won’t vote for somebody whose brother is raising his hand saying I became governor; come and vote for my brother! No!
“I personally will vote and campaign against such a person. If the brother is capable, he should present his credentials so that we can assess him as an individual. His brother having run an administration, we can then add one extra mark because the brother did well, believing that perhaps he will do well too.
“So I don’t want to be referenced; you can reference me as part of the success of the ‘Iroko’ phenomenon because we planned many of those good programmes together, but I can’t claim those programmes. I was not the governor; I want to be governor so that I can showcase the plans I have. Iroko’s administration will be child’s play with what we have on the ground for Ondo.”
