Date Published: 06/10/09

You should be ashamed of yourself, Mimiko tells Agagu

Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko on Wednesday berated the erstwhile Governor of the State, Dr Olusegun Agagu over snide comments he has been making in the media on  the finances of the State saying that Agagu should cover his face in shame given the terrible State he left the State.

Agagu who left the State Government house in a hurry on Monday, February 23 this year following the judgement of the Justice Umar Abdullahi led Court of Appeal which nullified his purported victory in the April 14, 2007 elections and declared Dr Olusegun Mimiko as the duly elected governor of the State had in recent times commented on the amount of money he left in the coffers of the State. Specifically, Agagu while saying that he left N20bn in the account had disclosed that Dr. Mimiko planned to renovate the State Government House with a whopping sum of N1.9bn.

But in his reaction, Dr Mimiko while saying that Agagu’s outbursts were borne out of desperation and a fly in the ointment posture given the quantum of laudable projects that his administration has embarked upon in just 100days as against his lackluster performance while in office, insisted that Agagu lacked the moral right to cast aspersions on his administrations given the mess he left the State in.

Mimiko who spoke though his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Kolawole Olabisi, while describing Agagu outburst as uncharitable, mischievous and cruel and done in a bad taste all in his desperation to cast aspersion on his administration noted that he would not be distracted from his set goal of giving the people of Ondo State the dividends of democracy which has eluded the State under Agagu’s inglorious tenure of office.

Says Olabisi: “Mr. Governor is a man of integrity. In this era of global economic recession, if he has N1.9bn, he will definitely not expend it on the renovation of the Government House but on projects that would impact positively on the lives of the people. Anyway, that was the hallmark of Agagu’s regime-to waste money on white elephant projects while the people went to bed with rumbling stomach. But such frivolities would no longer hold in our dear State again; at least not under Dr Olusegun Mimiko.

“And contrary to the insinuations by Agagu that he left the Government House in a habitable condition, the truth is that the entire Government House as of today is not only an eyesore but a parody of who Agagu is despite his public posture. Even his kitchen where food was being made is like a pigsty; no sane person can eat anything that emanated from there. The Governor’s Lodge in not fit for habitation yet Agagu glibly claimed that he left it in a neat condition nothing is farther from the truth than this and we have conducted media men round this place and will still welcome more to come and see things for themselves in order to put lie to Agagu’s statement that he left a habitable Government House.”

The Governor’s spokesman also noted that it was interesting that Agagu kept joggling figures of how much he left behind to suit his mood.

His words: “It is gratifying to note that Agagu’s hen has come home to roost. Initially, he had hinted that he left over N50bn in the coffers of Ondo State, now one is happy that this money is now N20bn which according to Agagu is made up of N10bn in withdraw-able funds while the rest are in some non-descriptive accounts.

“Dr Mimiko will in a matter of days hence address the State House of Assembly and the people of Ondo State on the real situation of the State’s accounts and until then, we will not be stampeded by those who for six years ruled us with impunity, those who never cared for the people, those who now attempt to stigmatize a legitimate government that is out to pull the State up by the bootstrap out of the slough they had helped in pushing the State in. Enough of this fly in the ointment posture, Dr Mimiko and his team will not be distracted. Rather, Agagu should hide his face in shame because what he spent two years planning for in his now infamous Road Map to Progress blueprint is what Dr Mimiko has not only done but surpassed in a mere 100 days and by the grace of God, Ondo State under Mimiko will move to the next level,” Olabisi stated