Mimiko congratulates Oshiomhole, salutes judiciary

Olusegun Mimiko

Labour Party Governorship Candidate in the April 14, 2007 election in Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, has congratulated Mr. Adams Oshiomhole on his declaration as the Governor of Edo State by the Court of Appeal which sat in Benin on Tuesday.

Mimiko who was also declared as the duly elected governor of Ondo State by the Justice Garba Nabaruma led Election Petition Tribunal on July 25, a verdict which the incumbent, Dr Olusegun Agagu is also challenging at the Court of Appeal also in Benin, enthused that with the landmark judgement of the Appeal Court, which upheld the Justice Phillip Umeadi judgement, the Judiciary has lived up to its billings that it is the last hope of the  Nigerian toiling masses who are yearning for good governance as opposed to selective governance by the powers that be.

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Mimiko who spoke through his Media Adviser, Mr. Kolawole Olabisi, in a press statement issued in Akure on Tuesday said that the judgement was also a plus for democracy, rule of law and due process. “I want to congratulate my brother, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on this well deserved victory. It is a victory for the entire people Nigeria and most especially the good people of Edo State who voted for Comrade Oshiomhole and, who, despite series of persecutions, intimidations and deprivation, refused to give up but remained resolute in their support for the man they voted for. We are proud of all of you and we salute your courage and we are happy that the Judiciary restored your hope even when everything seemed hopeless.”

Specifically, Mimiko averred that with this landmark judgement alongside several others in the last few months signaled that the era of people resorting to self help was gone for ever.

“Rather, those who aspire to be leaders must do the right things in order to get elected rather than resorting to the raping of the people’s mandate with impunity because nobody would be able to stop and sanction them. But the Judiciary has but a lid on this insanity. By this judgement, and others to come, those who feel aggrieved would be confident to go to the Judiciary to seek redress rather than resorting to self help through unorthodox means. This is the beauty of democracy and the Judiciary has lived up to its billings as the last hope of the masses. It has helped in strengthening our nascent democracy in Nigeria and we are happy that the Judiciary has done the people of Edo State and Nigeria as a whole by upholding totally the Judgement of Justice Umeadi and his colleagues at the lower Tribunal.

“I salute the Judiciary, I am confident that with judgements like this, our nation is on the right track that would make us a great nation like the United States of America (USA) where only last week, the son of a Kenyan, Senator Barack Obama was elected at the 44 th President of USA. This should be our goal and the Judiciary has done us proud,” Mimiko enthused.