Why I Dumped PDP For LP– Mimiko
Former governor of Ondo state, Dr Olusegun Mimiko , on Thursday said he decided to return to the Labour Party (LP) to enable him join forces with other Nigerians willing to rescue the country from the shackles of underdevelopment.
Mimiko who stated this while addressing a mammoth crowd of supporters in his Ondo home town, after registering and collecting membership card of the Labour Party at Ward 7 ,Ondo West Local Government.
The former governor said, all the existing political parties in the country presently belong to the right of the centre, ensconced as it were in a neo-liberal mental construct they choose to enrobe themselves in.
According to him, “This is evident not in terms of the pretentious claims they make to ideological purity, but in the way and manner they have used power; including the extent to which they have mainstreamed the interest and welfare of the weak and poor in our society.”
Mimiko pointed out that energetic, competent and innovative young people in the country needed a true progressive platform which the Labour Party represents to achieve their dream of a safe and prosperous Nigeria.
He noted that he joined the PDP in 2014 because of national interest, noting that both the ruling APC and the PDP were not different in terms of ideologies hence the need to return to the labour party.
His words, “I most humbly announce to Nigerians today my decision to quit the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), and return to Labour Party (LP), my true political family.
“This ideological fluidity, within which the nation’s extant democracy has evolved since 1999, deserves now to be fully interrogated, with a view to engendering a transition to a more ideologically defined system of engagement.
“This will at once allow for a nuanced examination of the context and content of governance, provide the Nigerian people with real alternatives, and help the electorate in making informed decisions as to which individual or platform to invest with power; and how to hold such to account at all times.
“We have come to the conclusion that these are the missing links in our political process, which have tended to make an all comers game of it, and one in which the interest of the mass of the people has been greatly marginalized in several of our governance spaces, since 1999.
“To be sure, our thought here is not a mere theoretical exposition. It is one that is consequent upon years of active participation in the political process, at the local, state, and federal levels, since the early 1980s, and especially these past two decades.
“LP, and its few ideological soul mates among the legion of parties in the country today, provide the requisite platform for this type of deep ideological introspection.
“Without doubt, this social democratic mantra, which LP and its soul mates represent, remains the best possible outlet for leading Nigeria into a new era of progressive governance.
“By the grace of God, using the platform of LP, we demonstrated for eight years in Ondo State (2009 – 2017), what it means for government to be pro-people. It is our hope moving forward, that working within LP, and hand-in-hand with other Nigerians of like minds, we would begin to sharpen the ideological divide in Nigerian politics, with a view to mainstreaming the welfare and interest of the mass of our people.
“It is for the foregoing reasons that I, and Nigerians across the country, and in the Diaspora, who admire what we represent, as demonstrated in our varied accomplishments in government, have elected to have us return to LP.
“This is a decision we consider as correct, reasonable, and patriotic. With this, we are no more restrained from offering to the Nigerian people a pristine, truly ideologically driven, well-thought-out, and historically valid alternative for repositioning our country.
“Let me just add, for the purpose of clarification, that while it is the goal of every political party in a democracy to win the next election, and form the next government, our formation considers it perhaps more important to have a platform with which we can begin to sensitize the Nigerian people to the requisite ideological clarity without which governance in the country will continue to operate at the mundane level – serving only the interest of the few, while marginalizing that of the many.”
Addressing the gathering, the National Chairman of the Party, Alhaji Salam Abdulkadir who officially received Mimiko back to the party, described him as a big addition.
Abdulkadir said the Mimiko’s masses oriented projects in Ondo state for eight year make him a good asset for the party to accept back to its fold.
Abdukadir said, “I feel highly delighted to preside over the return to Labour Party of His Excellency Dr Olusegun Mimiko, the immediate past Governor of Ondo State and all his followers.
“In him, we have an example of what power could be used to achieve on the side of the people.
“Therefore our hope and confidence is rekindled by his return to the party today to be part of the renaissance of the party and Nigeria.
“Today is indeed not a day for long speeches. We are here to welcome Dr. Mimiko to our party. By his history and achievements, he qualified pre-eminently to be a member of our great party.
“The Labour Party is elated that a social democrat like Dr. Mimiko, who through his sterling performances as governor mainstreamed pro-people and pro-poor people policies, programmes and projects, is returning to add value to the party. I assure you of our support and commitment at all times.”
