On Tuesday evening, a source disclosed to SaharaReporters that the embattled Governor Mimiko and his cohorts had long been mounting pressure with frustration on Mr. Johnson to tender his resignation letter.
Kolawole Johnson, the beleaguered chairman of the Labour Party in Ondo State, has resigned from his position following ‘repeated threats and pressure’ from the camp of Governor Olusegun Mimiko.
An impeccable source that revealed the latest information to SaharaReporters correspondent said Mr. Johnson hurriedly resigned on Tuesday in a letter issued in Akure.
“It is therefore with great gratitude and a sense of strong character, which determines moral purpose and set of things we choose or avoid, that I tender my resignation letter today,” a paragraph in his resignation letter read.
Mr. Johnson held sway to the chairmanship position of the party for over two years even after the defection of Mr. Mimiko to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
After his official defection, Mr. Mimiko had collapsed some members of the Labor Party (LP) into the PDP to woo the support of erstwhile President Goodluck Jonathan for the purpose of the last general election.
Since then, his action has caused a crisis between the remaining members of the Labour Party who refused to yield the call of the Governor to the umbrella party, our correspondent said in his report.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported about the leadership crisis rocking the Ondo State Chapter of the Labour Party .
“Part of the crisis is also about two people laying claims to the seat of the Chairman of the party in Ondo State and one of them is purposely being sponsored by Governor Mimiko,” our correspondent reported.
On Tuesday evening, a source disclosed to SaharaReporters that the embattled Governor Mimiko and his cohorts had long been mounting pressure with frustration on Mr. Johnson to tender his resignation letter.
The source said in a phone conversation with our correspondent that the beleaguered chairman was further frustrated and forced to step down from the seat.
“They [Mimiko and his supporters] frustrated and forced the young man, Kolawole Johnson, to resign from his position by threatening him with spurious allegations," he revealed.
When asked what the allegations were, the source immediately denied knowledge of any allegations.
Our correspondent contacted Mr. Johnson to make more inquiries about these allegations but his official mobile phones were switched off.
Other members who were pained by the sudden exit of Governor Olusegun Mimiko from the Labour Party had been accusing him of scheming to hijack its leadership structure.
“Now, the governorship election is near, he [Mimiko] is doing everything possible to come back underground and install his stooge for the purpose of the election.
“The chameleon Governor who has no shame once told some of our leaders at a meeting held with him in his office that he still has every legal access to the Labour Party because he brought it to the State,” one of them told our correspondent over the phone.
The source further hinted that Mr. Mimiko is now pushing his stooge, identified as Mr. Olarenwaju Bankole, as the governorship candidate for the Labour Party for the purpose of the November election.
“The plan of Mimiko is that Bankole would garner more support for his anointed candidate in the Peoples Democratic Party, Eyitayo Jegede, for the purpose of the November governorship election in the State," this same source added.
But, Mr. Johnson and his crop of executives were dissolved shortly after his resignation, it was learned.
An underground investigation carried out by SaharaReporters revealed that Governor Mimiko was behind the dissolution of the Kolawole Johnson-led executive of the party after he had resigned.
Mr. Mimiko had, last month, approached the leadership of the party in Abuja to initiate a ‘deal’ by holding to the party’s structure in Ondo State despite his public exit to the PDP.
The national leadership immediately announced new leaders to pilot the affairs of the Ondo State chapter of the party based on the deal and instructions of the embattled governor.
Wale Gbakiro and Jelili Owolabi have been announced respectively as the caretaker Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the party in Ondo State.
Abudlkadir Abdulsalam, the National Chairman of the party, made the announcement in an electronic mail.
Several sources in Abuja had told our correspondent that Mr. Mimiko is still funding the party with billions of Naira, both at the State and national level despite being in the PDP.
“Mimiko is still a financial trustee of our party," one of the leaders told our reporter.
