• Rejects Mimiko

James Ojo, Abuja; Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure

Four weeks to the governorship election in Ekiti State, the Labour Party (LP) has said it has no candidate for the election slated for July 14 and warned electorate to be ware of impostors.

State Chairman of the party, Dr. Michael Omotosho, who made the disclosure at a media briefing, yesterday, said the party is aware of some ‘politicians in Ekiti who are claiming to the candidate of the LP in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

“Let me say it categorically that Labour Party has no candidate in the July 14, 2018 governorship election in Ekiti State. Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) workers and the Ekiti electorate should not allow themselves to be hoodwinked by the antics of political impostors,” he said.

He also said the party is aware of alleged moves by the former governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimko, to return to the fold of the party, but warned him to perish the thought.
For those claiming to be the flagbearer of the party in the Ekiti election, Omotosho disowned such posturing or proclamation.

He charged all political aspirants in the Labour Party to deal only with the screening committee of the party.

“On no account should anyone engage in any form of financial transaction on issues related to the Labour Party with A. A. Salam and Julius Abure,” he warned.

On the alleged plans by Mimiko to return to the Labour Party, he said: “The Nigeria Labour Congress is fully aware of plans by Mimiko to destabilise the current gains being made by workers to reclaim and reposition the Labour Party. It is very obvious that the sole purpose of Mimiko’s re-approach to the Labour Party is to use the party to launder his sagging political image.

Related News

“Nigerians would recall that Mimiko abandoned the Labour Party for the People’s Democratic Party a few days to Labour Party’s October 2015 national convention.

“Such a treachery and betrayal of a party that gave the former governor succour in the darkest hour of his political career, especially in his two term victory, to say the least, is cheap and callous. It also revealed paucity of knowledge of the philosophy of the Labour Party as a people’s rooted party, and dearth of class consciousness on his part.”

He said the LP is pre-occupied with strategic repositioning, aimed at reenergising its capacity as a people, for issue-based politics and ideologically driven political contestations.

“We urge politicians like the former governor of Ondo state to stay clear of the new Labour Party, because we are aware of their gimmicks to lure the Labour Party in the direction of other political parties, with the hope of rehabilitating their dwindling political relevance. As they say “once bitten, twice shy.”

Meanwhile, Mimiko yesterday resigned his membership of the PDP and declared his intention to rejoin LP.

Mimiko, who sent his resignation letter to the state secretariat of the party, through his ward chairman, said he is quitting the PDP for some personal reasons.

In the letter addressed to the PDP state chairman, Mr. Clement Faboyede, Mimiko said he was not pleased with certain happenings within the party in the recent times, hence, his decision to leave.
Reacting to Mimiko’s defection, the PDP Publicity Secretary, Mr. Ayo Fadaka, said the party would not feel the absence of Mimiko.

He said: “PDP is like an orange tree that bears fruits, when a fruit falls down, it can never affect other fruits from growin on the tree.”