GOVERNOR Olusegun Mimiko commenced his second term of office in Ondo State on Sunday, the culmination of weeklong activities marking his milestone re-election.
Accompanied by his wife, Olukemi and members of his immediate family of three girls and a boy, Mimiko took the oath of office administered by the state Chief Judge, Justice Olaseinde Kumuyi, at exactly 1.10 p.m.
And for the second time in four years, Pastor Tunde Adesida of the Redeemed Christian Church of God poured anointing oil on Mimiko’s head and prayed God to guide the governor for a successful tenure in office.
Dr. Mimiko’s deputy, Alhaji Alli Olanusi, also took his oath as deputy-governor.
“In the past four years, we have sought to re-engineer the education sector to be able to produce truly competitive and socio-economically relevant products who will be equipped to climb the social ladder,” Governor Mimiko said, adding that this is necessary “to continually create a vibrant middle class that will continue to innovate and drive our development.”
“Education must serve the present generation, like those before it, as a tool of social mobility; to do otherwise is to wittingly or unwittingly recycle generational poverty and close the hope of generations for better lives,” the governor added.
“We can only do these at our peril because we shall be multiplying the tribe of hooligans, armed robbers, kidnappers and suicide bombers. That is why, in the past four years, we have invested massively in education; that is why we created the Quality Education Assurance Agency as a tool of effective monitoring, measurement and evaluation.
“In the past four years, the health sector has witnessed a new fillip. Our home grown initiatives, geared at removing all impediments to quality health care for our pregnant women and infants have received and continue to receive both national and international accolades.”
“We have declared that ‘pregnancy will no longer be death sentence in our state.’ Our health institutions have become generally more patient-friendly. We are also about to complete an integrated Emergency Medical Service Scheme, which will drastically reduce the toll of trauma, especially Road Traffic Accident, on our people.
Important personalities that graced his inauguration included former Head of State, Gen. Abdusalaam Abubakar, governors of Abia, Theodore Orji and his Ekiti, Nasarawa and Anambra counterparts, Kayode Fayemi, Umar Almakura and Peter Obi respectively.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party in Ondo State condemned as “absolutely elaborate and flamboyant week long inauguration” of Governor Olusegun Mimiko.
A statement signed by the party’s director of publicity in the state, Ayo Fadaka said it is unfortunate that when millions of unemployed youths in the state roam the streets, the Mimiko-led administration felt comfortable to spend huge sums for his inauguration.
“In spite of the fact that millions of unemployed youths continue to roam our state in search of jobs and business opportunities, Dr Mimiko still find it convenient to spend over a N1 billion on a needless inaugural program that saw to the invitation and hosting of various dignitaries from both far and near and even the Diaspora included,” the statement said.
The party said that “the implications 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.”