Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
A former governorship candidate of the Zenith Labour Party in Ondo State, Dr Abass Mimiko, has declared that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu deserves a second term in office, urging Nigerians to give the administration more time to consolidate its reforms and warning that the country was on the brink of total economic collapse when the President assumed office in 2023.
Mimiko, who is the younger brother of former Ondo State Governor Dr Olusegun Mimiko, spoke on Sunday during an interaction with members of the Correspondents' Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Ondo State Council, in Ondo town. He said the Tinubu administration inherited serious economic challenges that required difficult decisions, adding that Nigerians should assess the impact of the reforms by considering what could have happened if the government had failed to remove petrol subsidy and address other structural problems in the economy. “We need to look at the counterfactual. Where would Nigeria have been if we had not taken some of these difficult decisions?” he asked.
The ZLP chieftain said that when Tinubu took over from former President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria was already in serious debt, had lost credibility in terms of its finances globally, and was spending up to 98 per cent of its earnings to service debts alone. “I believe the President deserves a second term in office,” Mimiko said. “If somebody has made the effort to bring us out of the pit of absolute failure to where we are talking about basic stability, even if we are not there yet, I think that person deserves to have his hands on the plough to now take that economy to prosperity”.
Mimiko, who has not jettisoned his ambition to govern Ondo State, disclosed that he was working on the formation of the One Love Coalition, a platform aimed at mobilising Nigerians outside the ruling All Progressives Congress in support of Tinubu. He said the coalition would draw members from across political parties, ethnic groups, religious affiliations and social classes who believe the Tinubu administration is steering the country in the right direction. “President Bola Tinubu doesn’t belong to APC alone. He is the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He belongs to all of us,” Mimiko said. He stressed that the coalition was not being established for political appointments or government patronage, saying, “If I wanted a political appointment, I’d run to APC. If I want to share in the largesse of what is coming down for the campaign, I will run to APC. We’re not doing this for pecuniary gains”. Mimiko said he remained a committed member of the ZLP despite his support for Tinubu’s second-term bid.
The coalition, according to Mimiko, will embark on an extensive grassroots campaign to educate Nigerians on what he described as the achievements of the Tinubu administration, particularly in education, infrastructure and other sectors, while also engaging students, market women and people from all walks of life. He warned that beneficiaries of federal programmes such as the Nigeria Education Loan Fund should not assume that such programmes would automatically continue under future administrations. Mimiko also advocated restructuring and greater devolution of powers to the states and local governments, saying the country needed a system that would bring governance closer to the people.
The ZLP chieftain challenged state governors to account for the increased funds accruing to states, saying the Federal Government should not be blamed for every hardship experienced by citizens. “We cannot continue to blame the President for everything. Governors are receiving more money now, and they also have to account for what they are doing with those resources,” he said. He said governors had a responsibility to ensure that increased allocations translated into better living conditions, infrastructure and social services for the people. He also urged the President to find ways of ensuring that funds allocated to state governments were properly spent for the benefit of Nigerians, adding that if hunger were taken away from Nigeria’s problems, many other challenges would become easier to address.
On the education sector in Ondo State, Mimiko advised Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to give priority to existing tertiary institutions rather than establishing new ones, expressing concern about the loss of lecturers at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, the Federal Polytechnic, Owo, and the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo. “It is not about the number of institutions we create. You first make the ones we have operate at the best level,” he said. He said the state government should make education a major priority, arguing that Ondo State had no reason to allow its tertiary institutions to deteriorate when education had historically been one of the state’s major strengths.
Mimiko’s endorsement adds to a growing list of support for Tinubu’s re-election bid ahead of the 2027 presidential election, scheduled for January 16. The Independent National Electoral Commission has published its final list of 18 presidential candidates, with Tinubu, 74, seeking re-election on the platform of the APC, paired with Vice-President Kashim Shettima. Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar is flying the flag of the African Democratic Congress, while former Anambra Governor Peter Obi is the candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress. Several support groups have intensified mobilisation across the country, including the Renewed Hope Labourers Network launched by Deputy House of Representatives spokesperson Philip Agbese, and the Tinubu Lungu Lungu 2.0 data-driven ward mobilisation initiative. The APC National Assembly Legislative Aides Support Group has also commenced nationwide mobilisation for the President’s re-election.
Mimiko’s decision to campaign for Tinubu from outside the APC structure mirrors a broader pattern in Nigerian politics, where support for the President transcends party lines. His elder brother, former Governor Olusegun Mimiko, formally joined the APC in May 2026, declaring support for Tinubu’s re-election and citing the President’s reforms across key sectors, including the NELFUND initiative and efforts to decentralise policing. The younger Mimiko has chosen a different path, maintaining his ZLP membership while building a cross-party coalition. Whether the One Love Coalition can translate its grassroots ambitions into electoral advantage in Ondo State and beyond will be determined at the polls, but Mimiko has made his position clear: Tinubu deserves a second term, and Nigerians should give him the opportunity to finish the work he has started.
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