GOOD GOVERNANCE: ENCOMIUMS FOR MIMIKO AT ZIK PRIZE AWARD

Mimiko
The Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko received encomiums at the Zik Prize for Leadership award ceremony when he won the Leadership Award for Good Governance at the weekend.

The shout of Iroko, rent the air when the Ondo State governor sauntered into the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos venue of the event last Saturday evening.

Following the entry of the governor into the venue, guests started pouring encomiums on him over his laudable achievements as the governor of Ondo State.

The climax came when the Ondo governor was called to mount the rostrum for his award presentation. After the reading of his citation, the hall went agog for the governor especially when he was mentioned to be governor paying the highest minimum wage to his state's workers. Governor Mimiko had last week announced payment of N22, 000 mimimum wage for workers in the state effective from April.

The Anambra State Governor, Dr. Peter Obi, who was also a recipient at the award, ceremony praised Mimiko over what he called the great transformation that Ondo State had witnessed in the last three years.

Obi, who said he had learnt so much from his Ondo State counterpart, recounted how a friend of his was discouraged from getting a banking site in Akure, the Ondo State capital some years back because there was nothing on ground to encourage such business then.

'Now things have changed, Iroko has changed everything and I am learning from him.

'Recently I brought my wife to Ondo Sstate and I told her she should learn because there are so much to learn from Iroko in every area; Is it Agric or Education where he has been winning awards every year?' Obi asked rhetorically

The Anambra State governor challenged other governors in the country to ensure that they deliver on their electoral promises, adding that because some governors, like Mimko, were performing 'Nigerians don't want to wait any longer, they have waited for too long, now is the time to meet their aspirations.'

Remarking that, 'though things are changing now that the governors are working,' Obi said for those who still want to do more, there is so much to learn from Mimiko because 'Leadership and learning cannot be separated.'

Also present at the event were the Ooni Of Ife Oba Okunade Sijuwade, several other traditional ruler, The Esama Of Benin, Chief Gabriel Igbinedon, the Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mrs Orelope Adefuilure and her Ondo State counterpart, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, among others.