A younger brother of a former governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, Abbas has emerged as the candidate of the Zenith Labour Party for the upcoming governorship election on November 16.
Abass Mimiko, a medical doctor, emerged as the candidate, through affirmation, in the primary election of the party held, on Wednesday, at the state party secretariat, in Akure, the state capital.
Addressing the party members after his emergence, Dr Mimiko said he was going to focus more on education, health, economy and security of the state if elected as the next governor of Ondo State.
He said, “We are a force to be reckoned with in this election, we will ensure food security, within a year of our being in the office, we will have a surplus of food in Ondo State, we will ensure affordable quality education, industrialisation housing, free health services for all residents are part of our programmes.”
Asked if former governor Mimiko is supporting his ambition, as both of them are in different political parties, Abbas said his brother threw weight behind him in his aspirations to become the next governor of the state.
“Former governor Mimiko said he did not doubt that if Abbas becomes the governor of the state, everyone will enjoy it. My brother is happy that I am coming out because he knows I would build on his achievements,” he declared.
Earlier, before the primary, the party held a state congress where Mr Cornelius
Akintoye emerged as the new state chairman of the party in the state.
In his remarks, the National Secretary of the ZLP, Mr Yahaya Wakama, said the party was ready to take over the state from the ruling party, urging the members to work hard to achieve this.
“Let me remind us, however, that the days ahead will be even more demanding and disturbing. The signs of what we should expect are already here, the harassment, attacks and economic strangulation are some of the weapons that the ruling party will wield in their attempt to prevent the people’s will.
“But we cannot give up. We must resolve to snatch our state from the jaws of death and the predators whose only desire is to sink the ship of state. We must remain the voices of our people and work for their betterment.
“As we choose our governor today, let us bear this in mind, while he will be our torchbearer, he cannot achieve anything by himself; he will need us. So we must all roll up our sleeves.
“The journey has begun and the work has started. No one can be a bystander and indeed no one should be a bystander. We must have all hands on deck. That is the only way can achieve our desired results.”
The ruling All Progressives Congress held its primary on Saturday across the 18 local government areas of the state.
The state governor, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, won the primary, polling 48,596 votes to defeat other 15 aspirants
Peter Dada
©PUNCH
