Ondo State Governor had recently declared his loyalty to the Labour Party remained following reports he had defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but the PDP has now committed to making him the latest member of the opposition to defect to the party.
According to the party in the state, it had set up a nine-man committee to liaise with the national leadership of the party to persuade and ensure that Gov. Olusegun Mimiko defected to the PDP. The committee members include Mr Ebenezer Alabi, Ondo State PDP Chairman, Mr Kingsley Kuku, the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Tokunbo Kayode, former Minister of Defence; Sen. Bode Olajumoke and Chief Olusola Oke, among others.
“Once the governor and his team move to the PDP, it will make things easier for the PDP because elections in recent time in the state has always been between the LP and the PDP,” said Gbenga Elegbeleye, a PDP chieftain, while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the meeting of the Ondo North Senatorial District of the party, adding that the party’s relationship with Mimiko and his people would start immediately after he had declared formally for the PDP.
“The focus now is on the 2015 national, state assemblies and presidential elections but my main concern is the presidential election because of my loyalty to the president.
“I am quite confident that President Goodluck Jonathan will win the election in the entire South West and other parts of the country due to the structure on ground,”Elegbeleye said.
Elegbeleye, who is the Director-General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), expressed optimism that the defection of Mimiko and his political machinery to the PDP would be a blessing and advantage to the party, as the party hopes to hear good news from Mimiko’s camp soon, after the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Labour Party.
