PDP accuses Mimiko of spending N1bn on inauguration

The Peoples Democratic Party in Ondo State on Monday alleged that Governor Olusegun Mimiko approved the release of over N1bn for his inauguration for a second term in office, held on Sunday.
A statement by the party’s Director of Publicity, Mr. Ayo Fadaka, in Akure, wondered why such an amount should be spent on such an event when the governor was still defending a petition before the Election Petitions Tribunal.
But the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Eni Akinsola, described the PDP statement as a figment of the author’s imagination.
He said, “It is the figment of their imagination. They are still hallucinating from the loss they suffered during the election; they believe that everybody is as corrupt as they are.
“The people of Ondo State voted for Mimiko and they were happy to celebrate with him. Where is their evidence of the amount spent on the inauguration? They are speaking so that they could be relevant.
“They are angry, and it is because the inauguration attracted prominent politicians and political office holders across party lines. They are dazed by Mimiko’s growing popularity.”
But Fadaka, who described the inauguration as flamboyant, said his party took full cognisance of the fact that “it is taking place though mandatorily, in view of the fact that our petitions at the Election Petitions Tribunal against his election are ongoing”.
The statement read in part, “We declare that given the quantum of evidences of electoral fraud that Mimiko and his party perpetrated during the October 20, election, Mimiko for now is a mere caretaker Governor, whose tenure will most certainly expire at the end of the legal fireworks currently in place.
“It is equally instructive to remind our people that the fortunes of our state have continued to dwindle since he became governor and the symptoms of illogical extravagance by this governor, who managed the economy of Ondo State from credit to debit still subsists.
“In spite of the fact that millions of unemployed youths continue to roam the streets of our state in search of jobs and business opportunities, Dr. Mimiko still finds it convenient to spend over N1bn on a needless inaugural programme.
“He invited and hosted various dignitaries from both far and near and even the Diaspora included, the implication of this is that hundreds of millions of naira have been paid as honorarium to many who have no direct relevance or even any relevance whatsoever to the economy of the state.
“Worse still, it is also important to point out the fact that workers in the local government sector are still owed their January salary. Such is the careless attitude that dictates governance in our state these past years.”