Mimiko rejects appointment to PDP presidential campaign council in Ondo

The former Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko, has rejected his appointment as the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council in the state.

The party had on Tuesday appointed the former governor as the Director-General of its presidential campaign council in Ondo while Amb. Roland Omowa was named Chairman and a former governorship candidate in the state, Eyitayo Jegede, was picked as Vice Chairman of the 441-member council.

Mimiko has aligned with a group of five governors – Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), and Samuel Ortom (Benue), who are pushing for the removal of the party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu.

The appointment into the PCC had fuelled insinuations of his withdrawal from the group.

However, in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, John Akinduro, the ex-governor stressed that he was not consulted before the appointment was announced by the party.

READ ALSO: 2023: I rejoined PDP to push APC out of power – Mimiko

The statement read: “Dr. Olusegun Mimiko has been inundated with calls and messages from the general public, and his political friends and concerned individuals around the nation; and in particular, his teeming supporters across the length and breadth of Ondo State, seeking clarity on fake news making the rounds since yesterday that he had ditched Governors Nyesom Wike, Seyi Makinde and their colleague governors, and abandoned the agitation for regional equity within the PDP; and in particular, making a party member of southern extraction the national chairman before the 2023 election.

“The report and the list that triggered it are fake and a deliberate attempt to muddle things up and smear Dr. Olusegun Mimiko.

“It must be stated with emphasis that Dr. Mimiko was neither consulted by anyone nor consented to his inclusion in any Ondo state PDP Presidential Campaign Council list.

“For the avoidance of doubt and to set the record straight, Dr. Mimiko is unwavering in his commitment to the principle of equity, fairness, and justice through which he believes a credible push for a PDP victory is possible.

“He fully subscribes to the agitation by his colleagues and other stakeholders in PDP and the generality of Nigerians that the PDP structure must reflect Nigeria’s diversity if it genuinely wants to unify a visibly divided country.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now