2027: Why I will support Tinubu’s re-election – Mimiko

Zenith Labor Party (ZLP) candidate in the 2024 Ondo State governorship election, Abbas Mimiko, says he will support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

Mimiko stated this while speaking to journalists in Akure on Sunday, stressing that Tinubu has recorded notable achievements which could secure him another term in office.

The former ZLP governorship candidate described Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidies as a courageous decision by the leadership, adding that previous administrations had failed to take such a step.

Mimiko, younger brother of the state’s former governor, Olusegun Mimiko, said no president since 1999 had made such a politically risky decision, despite widespread recognition that the subsidy was unsustainable.

“Tinubu chose to do the painful but necessary thing.

“Everyone who came before him knew that the subsidies were unsustainable, but they didn’t have the courage to remove them. It was a life-or-death situation for the economy,” he said.

He acknowledged that rising fuel prices have worsened economic hardship, but urged Nigerians to pay more attention to how state governors use the increased federal allocations.

“The percentage increase in what states receive now is many times greater than the percentage increase in fuel prices.

“Nigerians should ask their governors what they are doing with these resources. Why isn’t this money visibly improving the lives of ordinary citizens?” he asked.

Mimiko also credited Tinubu with playing a significant role in Nigeria’s democratic evolution, particularly in the recovery of electoral mandates in some states.

“Without people like him, the tenures of former governors of Ondo, Ekiti, Osun and Edo states may never have been recovered.

“People conveniently forget his sacrifices for democracy because he is now president.

“Maybe my elder brother would not have become governor if people like Tinubu had not defended Ondo State. We owe him a debt.

“I supported him before he became president and I will support him again,” he said.

Mimiko maintained that while she remains a member of the ZLP, she will work for Tinubu’s re-election, describing political parties as mere vehicles.

“I am in the ZLP, where I have been a member for years, and I will remain there because I don’t look at the party as many see it.

“Parties are just a vehicle. That is why it is easy for me to support the president despite being in the ZLP while Tinubu belongs to the APC,” he said.

He added that he supports any leader, regardless of party affiliation, who he believes is bringing dividends to democracy.

“One good term deserves another,” he said.