Mimiko Meets Buhari, Denies Defecting To APC

Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, has denied insinuations he is planning to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Ondo’s governorship election holds on Saturday, November 26.

Yesterday’s meeting was the second time the two men would meet since the substitution of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Eyitayo Jegede, with businessman, Jimoh Ibrahim.

A forthnight ago, Mimiko was also at the Presidential Villa to express displeasure with the governorship poll in the state.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recognised Ibrahim as the PDp candidate in Saturday’s election.

On reasons for his second visit, Mimiko told State House Correspondents, yesterday, he wanted to apprise the president of the security situation in his state.

“As I said, as the chief security officer of my state, if there is any credible threat to security, I owe the responsibility to Nigerians to apprise Mr. President of what is going on in the state. Mr. President was in my state to campaign for his party. I extended to him the courtesies of receiving him at the airport and seeing him off as president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, not as APC.

“I understand that people have speculated that this means I am going to APC. There is nothing of such. I only extended normal courtesies which protocol demands.

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesting supporters of Senator Ahmed Makarfi faction of the PDP besieged INEC headquarters in the state, yesterday and called for the postponement of Saturday governorship elections.

The aggrieved PDP supporters demanded for two-weeks extension of the poll.

President of Akure Youth Association, Tuyi Adekanmi, said that the protest was organised because the people were being deprived of the right to elect a candidate of their choice.