I Won’t Continue with Mimiko’s Orange Colour if Elected – Jimoh Ibrahim

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the November 26 governorship election in Ondo State, Mr. Ibrahim Jimoh, has declared that he would discard the official colours of the state for the National colour, if elected as governor.

Jimoh said this at a parley with journalists on Monday in Akure, criticizing the official change of the state’s colour to orange by the incumbent governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko.

He stressed that the state is still a federating unit of the nation.

According to him, “I will not continue with Mimiko’s logo of orange, I am going back to the Federal Government coat of arms. So when I come here as governor, within three days, I dismantle all those orange colours and put back the coat of arms.

“Ondo State is not a country, it is not an independent state; it is part of Nigeria. So, anything painted in orange will be repainted to green, white and green, which is the colour of the state. All those things will never stay under my government, three days I give you: they are out.”

He reiterated that all the government properties, materials, souvenirs and others which have the logos and orange colour, regardless of their bulk and unused size, would be destroyed.

The PDP candidate, who was confident of becoming the sixth executive governor of the state, premised his success at the poll on his performance in the last elections and impacts in the party.

He assured the people of a massive industrial revolution and utilization of natural resources for sea-ports, stating that his government would provide conducive atmosphere through partial tax integration system to attract more investors in the state.

“I need to take the state from a hopeless situation, as it is now, to a very hopeful situation. I need to take away injustice, we cannot afford to have a senatorial district producing governor for 16 years at a goal”, he pledged.

He added that he would have as a priority the payment of outstanding salaries of the state’s workforce “because a good workforce is the one that can deliver the dividends of democracy, efficiency and effectiveness.”

Ibrahim hinged his major administrative policies on the training and retraining of the public servants, saying “I want the public service training school to be alive again. I want them to be first among equal in public service in Nigeria.”

He unveiled his plans for infrastructural development programme, which would provide sustainability for all human endeavours in agriculture, commerce, health, entrepreneurship communication; and to create employment.

The PDP candidate also disclosed that within six months in office, most of the secondary schools in the state would return to the boarding school system, which would be institutionalized through government policy.

“These are the things we intend to do when I become the governor of this state. We want to affect education, employment; we want to ensure efficiency and capability development, the strategy of innovation in the workforce,” he said.

Ibrahim said he would achieve the aforementioned and many more through “a synergy that is deliverable, a structure and system, affirming that “these are the hardwares of policy development.”

He noted that the youths, through his synergy of engagement, would be engaged as catalysts for development in the sports sector, saying he would change the weak ties of the sector to block and strong ties development would create more chain values for the people.

He listed other new innovations like a strong data bank, upgrading of Board of Internal Revenue to a full-fledged ministry and establishment of Ondo State Infrastructural Development Commission, which he said would liase with the Ministry of Works for rapid infrastructural growth.

“I will cancel the Department of Special Duties and call Ministry of Employment in Ondo State, that will be the first of its kind in Nigeria,” he stated, saying this would help to plan effectively on tackling unemployment.