Mimiko’s defection to LP: Salam, Ajulo got it wrong, insincere and misleading Nigerians
It was not surprising that both Alhaji Abdulkadr A. Salam and Dr Kayode Ajulo have both toed the same line in the matter of the recent defection of Dr Abdulrahamon Olusegun Mimiko into Labour Party (LP). Nothing contrary was expected from the duo as birds of a feather flock together and more so that they both belong to the same infantry of lawlessness. The very prompt response of Alh. Salam and Dr Ajulo to the disorderly and incongruous defection is a clear pointer to the fact that Nigerians must be wary of those they regard as men of honour. In fact, they are better described and categorized as men of dishonor and enemies of genuine emancipation of the masses.
Going memory lane, in 2014 at a controversial convention held in Akure, Alh. Salam and Dr Ajulo were both railroaded into the main leadership strung of LP to continue and consolidate their dirty political activities and the rots initiated by Mr Dan Nwanyanwu whom Dr Mimiko used, as a payrolled stooge, throughout his tenure (as governor of Ondo State and a de facto national leader of the party) as a payrolled stooge to distance LP from the NLC and continue the rots they had created in the party. On the day of hand-over to the corrupt leadership of Alh. Salam and Dr Ajulo and co., Mr Nwanyanwu shed crocodle’s tears, just to cajole and deceive unsuspecting Nigerians. Sometime around last year, the same Mr Nwanyanwu, who was the immediate past national chairman of LP, was on TV as a chieftain of Advanced People’s Democratic Alliance (APDA), an offshoot of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), founded to salvage the Senator Ahmed Makarfi faction of PDP in the event they lost to Senator Alimodu Sheriff in the leadership legal crisis that engulfed the party last two years. Where is morality in being a former national chairman of a party and in a short while hobnobbing with another party as a chieftain? Something is fundamentally wrong. No sense of decency and morality! This may attest that Mr Nwanyanwu has destroyed the party before he handed over its further annexation and occupation to continue by the duo of Alh. Salam and Dr Ajulo.
Before and after his exit as the national chairman, Mr Nwanyanwu and Dr Ajulo had always supported and spoken in favour of the illegal process that brought Alh. Salam to power and his lawless stewardship. This act/exploit of theirs is not unexpected anyway from their caliber, but it is ridiculous that legal practitioners could support and be ready to die with and for illegality. It is sad that lawyers were running and still supporting running an institutional party as LP outside its rules, regulations, constitution and philosophy as espoused by its owner and promoter, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). Good enough that Dr Ajulo in his swift reaction in a media report quickly cited that LP was “more organized and effective”, affirming that the party is run in accordance with its basic tenets, principles and philosophy elsewhere, particularly in the UK where he did his PhD, but it was disappointing that he (Dr Ajulo) allowed illegality to thrive when he was the national scribe of the party and still supporting same illegality and lack of due process in the last Thursday defection of his paymaster. Dr Ajulo, who resigned his secretaryship of LP to save his face, in the company of Alh. Salam used all his legal training and qualifications acquired in and outside Nigeria to perpetrate political evils and wreck individuals with good conscience, who were genuine loyal members of LP. Let us ask Dr Ajulo, Alh. Salam, Mr Nwanyanwu and Dr Mimiko who they handed LP to in Oyo State in the wake of 2015 general elections. The party was handed over to political minstrels, rolling stones like Mr Sarafadeen Abiodun Alli and Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala. They are goners! As of this moment, they have pitched their tent with other parties. Others they brought in through the backdoor and foisted on the genuine members have negotiated their ways into other parties while the remnants of the wreck are currently going into alliance with another party. Is Alh. Salam, the current embattled “illegal” chairman, the one that asked or permitted them to form alliance with other parties in the state? If they had let them go through due process and the existing order before coming into the party, LP in the state may not have been in limbo today. Alh. Salam and Dr Ajulo, under the watch and command of Dr Mimiko and his “aide”, Hon Joseph Akinlaja, brought in “yahoo-yahoo” and caricature politicians into LP and destroyed the very foundation of the party in the state. This illustrates the extent of damage these “gentle men” have done to LP. No matter his milestones in governance, Dr Ajulo is aware but being economical with the truth, Dr Mimiko, on his way out of LP in 2014, left a troubled disorganized party which, till today, its centre has never held. So, in party leadership and management, as far as LP is concerned, Dr Abdulrahamon Olusegun Mimiko is a complete failure. The claim by Dr Mimiko that he left LP in order to help the then ruling party, PDP, in his restructuring plan does not hold water. Must he leave or collapse his party just because he believed in another party’s agenda or before he could work with any other party for a national interest? We should not be fooled; Dr Mimiko knows how alliance works better! Throughout his eight-year tenure, Dr Mimiko could not build or make LP stronger in other states of the federation. The party was only strong in Ondo State, not even in the neighbouring Ekiti State. Furthermore, Dr Mimko also did not fund the party! A clear headed man would like to ask Dr Ajulo if the way he too ran LP as its main scribe the way to emancipate the people and be progressive as he laid claim in his media report on the defection of Dr Mimiko. There are traits of bourgeoisie and capitalists in you, Mr Ajulo!
Alh. Salam, before the Thursday defection of Dr Mimiko, whose neck is hanged case(s) of financial misappropriation and other charges on violation of constitutional provisions of Labour Party, had been playing along with the NLC so as to have a soft landing and for a truly labour party. Now that his “boss” and co-traveller in impropriety, illegality is “back,” the beast in Chief Salam has risen/resurrected again, hence the release of a press statement welcoming Dr Mimiko back and discountenancing the press statement earlier made by Dr Mike Omotosho. This is a clear testimony that a leopard never changes his skin. The press statement by Alh Salam shortly after the defection was carefully written as mention of the NLC/TU leaders were completely circumvented/avoided. This shows that Alh. Salam has been hunting with hounds and run with hares and both of them, of course all of Dr Mimiko, Mr Nwanyanwu, Dr Ajulo and Alh. Salam do not have any regard for the stake and status of the NLC/TU as the main owner and promoter of LP. Why were labour leaders, the serving and the veterans, were not on hand to receive Dr Mimko into their party? Let us also ask Mr Ajulo, is the way LP is run in Nigeria today the way it is run in the UK where he schooled or elsewhere in the world? It is a pity Labour Party is run by rabble rousers in Nigeria!
The traditional chief of Bida, Alh. Abdulkadr Salam “Paiko”, should answer this question. Were Ondo State party EXCO led by its chairman on ground to welcome Dr Mimiko “back” into LP? There have never been substantive party EXCOs across the states of the federation for more than one year. That is the kind of party Chief Salam is chaired and wants our party to continue to run that way so he would carry on using the platform to negotiate for his pockets. Prior the Mimiko defection, hasn’t Chief Salam, who has never called NWC or NEC meeting for close to two years, agreed with the NLC and INEC, two weeks ago, to call for the meeting(s)? As a traitor he is, as soon as he perfected clandestine plans as usual with Dr Abdulrahamon Mimiko and co., Chief Salam showed his true colour again, abandoning the NLC/TU to his detriment and peril!
Of course, Dr Mimko is free to pitch his tent with any party of his choice as alluded to by Dr Ajulo, but why is it difficult for him (Dr Mimiko) to follow simple due process, giving honour to whom honour is due, if he is genuine in his mission of return to Labour Party, a party he left in shreds? Why can’t he and Chief Salam work out plans of repositioning the party genuinely with the leadership of NLC and TU? Anything contrary would mean that Labour Party is not a platform for a lawless Mimiko, a fantastically corrupt Salam and a subservient Ajulo and others in their ilk, who may want to find a cover in Labour Party.
Labour Party… Forward Ever; Backward Never!
SIGNED:
Aremo Adeola Adepoju (07033975621)
Convener/Chairman, Congress of Promoters of Labour Party Ideals (CPLPI), Oyo State