Former Ondo State governor Olusegun Mimiko has formally joined the All Progressives Congress, declaring his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid and broader reform agenda.

Mimiko, who governed Ondo State from 2009 to 2016 and was once a leading figure in the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party, completed his defection at the APC secretariat in Ward 7, Ondo West Local Government Area. The move ends months of speculation over his political future and effectively transfers his influential grassroots network into the ruling party.

Explaining his decision, Mimiko said he was persuaded by what he described as “a lot of good things” being undertaken by the Tinubu administration, even as he acknowledged that more work remains to be done. He framed his defection as a commitment to help “keep Nigeria on the path of peace, progress and genuine development.”

The former governor singled out the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, which aims to expand access to tertiary education through government-backed loans, as a key policy that aligns with his long-standing interest in social welfare and human capital development. He also welcomed the renewed push for state policing and decentralised security architecture, an issue he has championed for years.

“For an avowed supporter of state police like myself, the current effort to decentralise policing as being pursued is another reason I am happy to be part of the current effort under Mr President,” Mimiko said, casting Tinubu’s reforms as a rare opportunity to reshape Nigeria’s security framework.

Ondo APC chairman Kolawole Babatunde described Mimiko’s entry as “a homecoming,” arguing that the former governor’s record in health, education and infrastructure already marked him out as a natural progressive. He insisted that Tinubu’s policies were “yielding positive results” and attracting “progressive-minded Nigerians” from across the political spectrum.

Former House of Representatives member Joseph Akinlaja said Mimiko’s move effectively completes the migration of the “Mimiko political structure” into the APC in Ondo State. According to him, many of Mimiko’s loyalists had previously crossed over with his tacit approval, but his formal registration now unifies the bloc behind Tinubu’s re-election and future APC candidates.

The defection is expected to recalibrate political alignments in Ondo State, where control of established structures and personalities often proves decisive in tightly contested elections.