Olusegun Mimiko

Olusegun Mimiko
Dr. Mimiko in official campaign photo
Mimiko in 2018
Governor of Ondo State
In office
24 February 2009 – 24 February 2017
Deputy
Preceded byOlusegun Agagu
Succeeded byOluwarotimi Akeredolu
Minister of Housing and Urban Development
In office
July 2005 – 8 December 2006
PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo
Secretary to the Ondo State Government
In office
2003 – July 2005
GovernorOlusegun Agagu
Ondo State Commissioner of Health
In office
1999 – November 2002
GovernorAdebayo Adefarati
In office
1992 – November 1993
GovernorBamidele Olumilua
Personal details
Born
Olusegun Rahman Mimiko

(1954-10-03) 3 October 1954 (age 70)
Ondo, Western Region, British Nigeria (now in Ondo State, Nigeria)
Political partyPeoples Democratic Party (2002–2006; 2014–2018; 2020–present)
Other political
affiliations
Spouse
Olukemi Adeniyi
​
(m. 1990)​
RelationsOlufemi Mimiko (brother)
Occupation

Olusegun Rahman Mimiko (Yoruba: Olúṣẹ́gun Mímikò (Listenⓘ); born 3 October 1954), is a Nigerian medical doctor and politician who served as governor of Ondo State from 2009 to 2017. He was the senatorial candidate of the Zenith Labour Party for Ondo Central District in the 2019 Senate elections.[1] He served as the 16th (5th civilian) governor of Ondo State, becoming the first two-term governor of Ondo State, and the first Labour Party governor in Nigeria. Mimiko was previously a federal minister for housing and urban development, a secretary to the Ondo State Government, and a two-time Ondo State Commissioner for Health.[2]

Mimiko was born and raised in Ondo Town, Ondo state, South West Nigeria. His political career began at medical school in the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), where he was a member of the Students’ Representatives Council (Parliament) and served as the public relations officer of the International Students’ Association of the institution from 1977 to 1978.

After graduating from the university in 1980 and completing his National Youth Service Corps year, Mimiko began practicing medicine. In 1985, he founded MONA MEDICLINIC in Ondo Town which served as a community charity center.[3]

Mimiko's first political appointment was as the commissioner of health and social services in Ondo State from 1992 till 1993 when a military coup terminated the democratic Third Nigerian Republic. On the return to democratic government in Nigeria, Mimiko again served as a commissioner of health in Ondo State from 1999 to 2002 when he resigned.[2]

In 2003, he was appointed secretary to the Ondo State Government (SSG). He held this position till July 2005, when he was appointed as the federal minister of housing and urban development.[3] Mimiko resigned as a minister to contest for the governorship of Ondo against the incumbent, Olusegun Agagu, in the 2007 elections.[4]

He won the keenly contested poll. But, influenced by former president Olusegun Obasanjo, the Independent National Electoral Commission announced Agagu as the winner. Mimiko challenged the outcome of the election in the courts in what turned out to be a two-year legal tussle that climaxed in his being declared the true winner of the governorship poll by a unanimous decision of the Tribunal Court, and the Court of Appeal in 2009.[5][6] He went on to win re-election in 2012, beating his closest challenger, Olusola Oke of the People's Democratic Party.[7]

After leaving office, Mimiko spent a year delivering public lectures and advocating for universal healthcare and good governance in Nigeria, London, and Washington DC.[8][9]

In September 2018, he declared his intention to run for president of Nigeria in the 2019 elections.[10] He received the nomination as the presidential candidate of the Zenith Labour Party in October 2018.[11] On 14 November 2018, Mimiko announced that he was suspending his presidential campaign, a few days before the campaign season was formally opened. He took up the Zenith Labour Party's senatorial ticket for Ondo Central district.[1]

  1. ^ a b "Mimiko Pulls out of Presidential Race for Senate". ThisDay. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  2. ^ a b "pointblanknews.com". www.pointblanknews.com. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  3. ^ a b Olu, Obafemi. Mimiko‘s Odyssey, A Biography of Revelations, 2017. Print.
  4. ^ Olu, Obafemi. Mimiko‘s Odyssey, A Biography of Revelations, 2017. Print. [verification needed]
  5. ^ Tenuche, M. "Language of Politics and Political Behaviours: Rhetoric of President Olusegun Obasanjo and the 2007 General Elections in Nigeria." Journal of public administration and policy research 1.3 (2009): 54-65.
  6. ^ "President Obasanjo's Utterances on General Elections in April 2007: A Call to Order". Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria5TH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FOURTH SESSION NO. 128. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  7. ^ "Mimiko wins Ondo election". www.premiumtimesng.com. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  8. ^ Emmanuel, Afe Adedayo. "GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION LITIGATION AND POLITICAL STABILITY IN ONDO STATE NIGERIA, 1983-2013." International Journal of Arts & Sciences 8.2 (2015): 139.
  9. ^ "Mimiko and the market of old wisdom". The Guardian (Nigeria). Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Olusegun Mimiko Declares For President, Reiterates Commitment To Social Democratic Ideals". thetrentonline.com. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  11. ^ "BREAKING: Mimiko Emerges As The Presidential Candidate Of Zenith Labour Party". thetrentonline.com. 7 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.