NIGERIA: ONDO STATE GOV CONFRONTS OPPOSITION

UNCLAS LAGOS 000279 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: ONDO STATE GOV CONFRONTS OPPOSITION ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Governor Olusegun Mimiko's (Labour Party - LP) four months in office have been a mixed bag of accomplishments and political intrigues. His supporters claimed he has in four months accomplished more than his predecessor achieved in two years. Opponents argue that his government lacks clear direction on how to move Ondo State forward. Mimiko has confronted the leading opposition party, the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP),over a wide range of issues including the March 4, 2009 dissolution of all the 18 local government councils in Ondo State, in which he removed mostly PDP-led councils and installed his own supporters to oversee the local governments. Control of the councils may be important to winning the state in the 2011 Presidential election. End Summary ¶2. (SBU) On June 5, Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko marked his first one hundred days in office. In a town hall meeting comprised mostly of his LP supporters, the Governor lauded the projects that his government has started in its four months in office. He cited on-going construction of 1,350 housing units in the state capital of Akure, the establishment of neighborhood markets aimed at discouraging street trading, and building a multi-million naira "Mother and Child Satellite Hospital" as major projects initiated since he assumed office on February 24, 2009. He also said that his government has disbursed 50 million naira (USD 300,000) in micro-finance credit to businessmen. ¶3. (SBU) In spite of these projects, the PDP-led opposition alleges that the Governor lacks the vision and the will to provide the right leadership. To date, the Governor has not kept his promise to disclose the state's real financial status. There continue to be disagreements between him and former Governor Olusegun Agagu over how much Agagu actually left in the state treasury before he was removed from office. (NOTE: On February 23, a federal appeal court upheld a lower tribunal's removal of Agagu from office and declared Mimiko the rightful winner of the April 14, 2007 Governorship election. End note.) ¶4. (SBU) On June 24, a high court in the capital city of Akure upheld Governor Mimiko's dissolution of 18 local councils, many of which were PDP controlled. (Note: On March 4, Governor Mimiko dissolved all 18 local councils and dismissed their elected chairmen and councilors. He stated that the December 15 election that produced them were illegal and unconstitutional. On March 13, dismissed council members sought a court declaration that their election was constitutional. They urged the court to reinstate them in office and declare that Mimiko lacked the power to remove them. End note.) On June 24, the court ruled in favor of Mimiko, saying the local council elections were illegal and unconstitutional and the State Election Commission had erred when it failed to give political parties and their candidates 150 days notice as required by the electoral law. However, the court criticized Mimiko's hasty dissolution of the councils and stated that he lacks the power to do so without the consent of the House of Assembly or a court judgment. Barely two hours after the court ruling, Governor Mimiko stirred another controversy by inaugurating caretaker committees, all of which were staffed by his own LP supporters, to oversee the councils pending the conduct of fresh elections. (Note: When a council is dissolved, only the elected officials, the chairmen and councilors, are removed from office. The council's regular staff, mostly civil servants, continues to run the day to day affairs of the committee pending another election or until a caretaker committee is appointed. End note). The PDP-controlled House declared these committees unconstitutional and argued that the governor had no power to constitute a caretaker committee without its consent. House Speaker Taofeek Abdusalam directed the police to arrest anyone declaring himself as a caretaker committee member. (Note: The Speaker probably did not have the authority to issue such an order, but that is not unusual in Nigerian state politics. End Note.) He ordered that no funds should be released to the caretaker committees until they are properly constituted. In addition, the House passed a resolution urging the Federal Government not to release funds to any of the councils until they are properly constituted. ¶5. (SBU) Comment: Given the extraordinarily long time it takes to initiate and complete most projects in Nigeria, some credit for Governor Mimiko's accomplishments must go to his predecessors. Mimiko and his Labour Party continue their battle with the PDP for control of the ruling councils of the state's local government areas. Being part of a patronage system, the councils are an important part of any party's strategy for winning Ondo State in the 2011 Presidential election. End Comment. ¶6. (U) This cable cleared with Embassy Abuja.