At Last, Mimiko Joins PDP In February, 2012

By Platform Newswire

The Ondo state governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko has concluded plans to rejoin the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) in the second week of February, 2012.

A member of the PDP National working committee, who craved anonymity,  confirmed this to PLATFORM NEWSWIRE  in Abuja yesterday.

According to the  NWC member, “Dr  Mimiko has been putting so much pressure on the National leadership of PDP, because of the inroad Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)  is making into Ondo state on a daily basis. Mimiko’s belief is that it would be suicidal for him to contest for the 2012 gubernatorial  election in Ondo state under the banner of Labour Party, hence his decision to lobby the PDP National secretariat to allow him run as the sole candidate of the party in the election.”

According to the findings of our reporters, one of the people, who have been opposing the decision of Mimiko to seek solace in PDP was the former chairman of the Labour Party in Ondo state, Dr Olaiya Oni. It was Oni who advised the governor to let them remain in LP and contest the 2013 election, but Mimiko, sensing the weaknesses and the intra -party crisis bedeviling LP  in the state was of the opinion that it would be safer for him to contest under the umbrella of PDP where he envisaged  better opportunities, especially, federal might, which he expected President Goodluck Jonathan to use for him to aid his reelection bid in the sunshine state.

The only area of concern for the governor at the moment, according to some insiders in his party is the  huge influence of Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim and former governor Olusegun Agagu in the PDP, both at the state and federal level.

Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim, who Mimiko has reportedly betrayed like many others, in the past was said to have totally opposed the return of Governor Olusegun Mimiko to PDP, which, according to him, he had called “party of killers” and other unprintable names.

Dr Agagu, on his part prefers to keep silent, refusing to make any categorical statement on his next line of action, if Mimiko eventually defects to PDP.

PLATFORM NEWSWIRE also learned that in the sharing of both party structures and political appointments when the embattled governor eventually returns to PDP, Governor Mimiko prefers to take seventy percent while the other PDP groups take thirty percent, but the PDP leaders are said to be  insisting on a fifty-fifty ratio.

Negotiations were said to be ongoing at the time our reporters filed their reports.