I never collected money from Tinubu for my election in 2007 – Governor Mimiko

Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, has declared that he never collected money from a National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to prosecute his election in 2007.

Mimiko made the disclosure while reacting to a claim by Tinubu during the governorship campaign of Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, saying he spent millions on his election petition tribunal case.

In his book titled, ‘Mimiko’s Odyssey: A Biographer of Revelations’ which would be presented today in Akure, the state capital, Mimiko said Tinubu only offered him “technical assistance” during his election, Punch reports.

Narrating that after dumping the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, he opted to form the LP rather than join forces with Tinubu.

He said, “That time, I did not run to Tinubu. They were the two power brokers (Obasanjo and Tinubu) then. The natural thing to do was to go and hide behind these people. Tinubu would give me the ticket and give me money to run and I would be more immune from Baba’s bullets. I didn’t go to him; I stood on my own.

“Four months to the election, December 14, 2006 – was when we inaugurated the Labour Party in Ondo State and election was April 2007. Four months and we formed a new party. We set up the structure, set up candidates.

“We won all elections and we were going with our bare knuckles. I didn’t go to Tinubu then.

“I did not take any money from Tinubu. He offered technical and logistic assistance, which I appreciated and which I have had occasions to reciprocate in the course of similar litigation in which he had interest when I was opportune to do so.

“It is not even important now but it was also a fact that the result of the forensic expert was not part of the evidence that the judges relied upon to give me judgment.”