Former Ondo State governor Olusegun Mimiko greets party members at the national convention of the Zenith Labour Party. PHOTO: TWITTER/ZENITH LABOUR PARTY
A coalition of young Nigerians, the Young Professionals For Progress, YPP, Thursday hailed the emergence of Olusegun Mimiko as the presidential candidate of the Zenith Labour Party, ZLP.
Mimiko, a two-term governor of Ondo state between 2009 and 2016 on the platform of the Labour Party and People"s Democratic Party (PDP), respectively, was unanimously elected without opposition by members of the party on Sunday at its national convention that took place at Chelsea Hotel, Abuja.
In a statement by the group executives, it hailed Mimiko stating that it is a "solution to the many problems plaguing the country" and praised his "clear vision and ability to get the job done", and said that his pedigree was not equalled by any other presidential candidate in the 2019 elections.
The group, which says it has a documented membership of 50,000 young professionals across Nigeria, promised to embark on a door-to-door campaign to sensitise Nigerians on Mimiko's youth aligned vision and declared their believe that Mimiko would win the presidential election of 2019.
"Now that the coast is clear for the campaign proper to begin, we promise to knock on every door and make sure Nigerian youth align with your vision so we can all usher you into Aso Rock come 2019 when the Nigeria of our dreams will be actualised," the statement said.
In August, the coalition called on Mimiko to exit the Labour Party, days after Mimiko, declared his intent for the presidency on September 13 under the aegis of the LP, so as to focus ‘on the task of ushering Nigeria into a new dawn’.
The group said it was forced to make the call because they have a strong belief that the strife between Ayuba Wabba, the president of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, and Labour Party leaders is being fuelled by a former national president of the NLC.
In his acceptance speech, Mimiko who said with the social democratic ideological orientation of ZLP, the process through which ZLP emerged, its pedigree and those of its leading lights, he will not have trouble convincing Nigerians why it is the preferred option for them in the elections of 2019.
The former governor averred that “as a social democratic party, committed to the enduring principles of good governance, utilitarianism (the greatest good to the greatest number), and a restructured federal system for Nigeria, ZLP is set to capture the imagination of Nigerians, and lead the process of renewing our republic.”
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