PDP crisis: I wasn’t consulted on inclusion in presidential campaign council, says Mimiko

Olusegun Mimiko, former governor of Ondo, says he was not consulted before he was appointed as the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign council committee in the state. 

The PDP had recently appointed Mimiko to lead the presidential campaign in Ondo, with Roland Omowa and Eyitayo Jegede as chairman and vice-chairman, respectively.

Mimiko’s appointment had stirred speculations that the former governor has withdrawn his support for his associate, Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers, who has been demanding the resignation of Iyorchia Ayu, national chairman of the party.

But in a statement issued on Wednesday by John Akinduro, his special assistant on media, Mimiko said his consent was not sought before he was appointed.

The former governor said he “fully” supports the agitations of Wike’s camp that the leadership structure of the party should cut across the different zones in the country.

“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 its national chairman before the 2023 election,” the statement reads.

“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.”