A political tsunami is ready to hit members of the Labour Party government in Ondo State, as some key members of the party have perfected plans to defect to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party at any moment.
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At a secretly held meeting on Friday afternoon in Akure, the capital city, the disgruntled party members resolved to move out of the Labour Party, to join the Peoples Democratic Party. The members include some Lawmakers from the State House of Assembly, SaharaReporters has learned. A SaharaReporters correspodent learned that the meeting was held in one of the aggrieved lawmakers homes where they had perfected a plan of moving out from the Labour Party.
At the meeting, they accused the Governor of the state, Olusegun Mimiko, of playing what they called, ‘partisan politics,’ by romancing the Peoples Democratic Party at the Federal level, while pretending to be a loyal member of the Labour Party at the state level. It is a perception that has deeply annoyed the long-time Labour members. According to the grouping, Mimiko is down-playing the Labour Party at the state level, while wanting to be seen as a 'Godfather' by making sure all his political orders work accordingly.
One ‘School of thought’ among the lawmakers in the State named Mimiko a 'Lone Ranger,' whose political sting is dangerous when it comes to Political activity and his perceived adversaries in the state. This action, they said, wouldn't work with them, and it might not be possible for them to withstand again, thus their defection plans. It was learned that the lawmakers planning this mutiny might already number six with more ready to defect.
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The House of Assembly has only one current member of the Peoples Democratic Party representing the Ese Odo Constituency area of the state - Lubi Akpoebi Ebielatei. Gaining at least six new members on the PDP side of the aisle would be a political game changer in the assembly. The six lawmakers are said to have already met with Lubi Akpoebi Ebielatei and other state officials of the PDP, informing them on their plans to defect to their party. Sources close to the Publicity Secretary of the PDP in Ondo State, Ayo Fadaka, had also confirmed the lawmakers plan to defect; it is now a question of when. Another source said arrangements had already been ‘put in place’ to receive the disgruntled Labour party members. If the six lawmakers defect, the Peoples Democratic Party will have a total of Seven members in the State House of Assembly. Sources told SaharaReporters that the lawmakers are the so-called ‘strong parliamentary members’ of the House, and they belong to the camp that opposed the governor’s choice of the new Female Speaker. Benson Enikuomehin
Benson Enikuomehin, the former Commissioner of the Niger Delta Development Commission in the state, resigned from the Labour Party last week and is also expected to join the Peoples Democratic Party. Enikuomehin had also resigned over the way the party is being run locally by governor Mimiko. He accused the governor of “not listening” to the plight of people from the riverine area, an area where no meaningful development has taken place since the administration of the LP led government in the state. The Labour Party was quick to respond by saying Enikuomehin was “sacked” from their folks for “anti-party activities,” a report he challenged, and no response has been heard since then from the LP folks in the state.
Though it is no longer news, there is a perception that the Labour party in the state is already sinking into a deep political ocean, and its recovery might be difficult. Reasons are not far fetched as the Governor Mimiko is being accused of turning the state into a 'Police State' with the Parliamentary House, and the Judiciary not been spared. Mimiko is on the verge of taking over the Judiciary system of the state, while members of the bar had voted to strike, with court proceedings paralyzing the legal process for almost two weeks in the state. The Governor was accused of ‘taking over’ the leadership of the House of Assembly, with his perceived authoritarian choice of the first female speaker. One of his major rift with the members is his total abandonment of the riverine areas of the state which now lacks basic amenities, with no meaningful commissioned project and other urban renewal commitment. No doubt, Ilaje-Ese Odo area of the state has been abandoned since the successor of the Mimiko led administration. All promises made were only seen on mere paperwork, and on pages of both local and national dailies, even the propaganda were not left out on both state owned radios and television station.
A senior officer from the government office told SaharaReporters that, Governor mimiko might lose some members of the party to the opposition party with the way things are going-on in the state. "The fate of the party is shaking, with some members especially from the State House of Assembly planning to defect to the opposition. "Even, the Governor is not helping matters, with his godfathersim attitude. Members are complaining and he doesn't seems to care about it". He said Mimiko might even be pitching his tent with the PDP later, if he sees that things are not working again for his favour in the Labour party.
A former lawmaker in the House of Assembly who pleaded anonymity told our correspodent in a telephone interview to, "Take your time and visit Ese Odo, the riverine area of the state, and tell me what the governor has done over there. He thinks people from the area are fools. What I can only say is that Labour Party is already losing his weight and I see know future for the party". "We are tired of his draconian nature," he said, "He can't continue to lie to us. Our eyes are now open wide and we are ready to send the Labour Party out to where they belong."
A few days to the Gubernatorial election in the Ekiti State, reports went viral, accusing Olusegun Mimiko of meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan to support the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the election, Ayodele Peter Fayose. It was reported that, Mimiko took his own Labour party candidate in the Ekiti election, Opeyemi Bamidele to President Jonathan in Abuja to stepped down his supporters for Fayose, and would be compensated for doing such after the election despite huge rally made in the state, with lots of millions spent at such rally. The authenticity of the report was confirmed to our correspondent by a strong party member, shortly after the election of Ekiti State.
Meanwhile, SaharaReporters has gathered that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim and other bigwigs of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) might received the defectors any moment from now in the state.Their defection, will spark a huge celebration in the state, while tax payers money would be use in funding the event which political critics as already being tagging 'The Catch of Big Fish'. Many schools of thought and political watchdogs in the state as of the opinion that the defection might be antics for the 2015 House of Assembly elections in the state, and as well the forthcoming general election.
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