Olusegun Rahman Mimiko ( ; born 3 October 1954), is a Nigerian doctor and politician, he was the senatorial candidate of the Zenith Labour Party for Ondo Central District in the 2019 Senate elections. He served as the 16th, and fifth civilian, Governor of Ondo State, Nigeria, from February 2009 to February 2017. The first two-term governor of Ondo state and the first Labour Party governor in Nigeria. Mimiko was previously a federal minister for housing and urban development, a secretary to the Ondo State Government, and a two-time Ondo State Commissioner for Health.
Mimiko was born and raised in Ondo Town, Ondo state, South West Nigeria. His political career began at medical school in the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), where he was a member of the Students’ Representatives Council (Parliament) and served as the public relations officer of the International Students’ Association of the institution from 1977 to 1978.
After graduating from the university in 1980 and completing his National Youth Service Corps year, Mimiko began practicing medicine. In 1985, he founded MONA MEDICLINIC in Ondo Town which served as a community charity center.
Mimiko's first political appointment was as the commissioner of health and social services in Ondo State from 1992 till 1993 when a military coup terminated the democratic Third Nigerian Republic. On the return to democratic government in Nigeria, Mimiko again served as a commissioner of health in Ondo State from 1999 to 2002 when he resigned.
In 2003, he was appointed secretary to the Ondo State Government (SSG). He held this position till July 2005, when he was appointed as the federal minister of housing and urban development. Mimiko resigned as a federal minister to contest for the governorship of Ondo against the incumbent, Olusegun Agagu in the 2007 elections.
He won the keenly contested poll. But, influenced by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Independent National Electoral Commission announced Agagu as the winner. Mimiko challenged the outcome of the election in the courts in what turned out to be a two-year legal tussle that ended in him being declared the true winner of the governorship poll by a unanimous decision of the Tribunal Court, and the Court of Appeal in 2009. He went on to win re-election in 2012, beating his closest challenger, Olusola Oke of the People's Democratic Party.
After leaving office, Mimiko spent a year delivering public lectures and advocating for universal healthcare and good governance in Nigeria, London, and Washington DC.
In September 2018, he declared his intention to run for president of Nigeria in the 2019 elections. He received the nomination as the presidential candidate of the Zenith Labour Party in October 2018. On 14 November 2018, Mimiko announced that he was suspending his presidential campaign, a few days before the campaign season was formally opened. He took up the Zenith Labour Party's senatorial ticket for Ondo Central district.
Personal life
Rahman Olusegun Mimiko, also known as Iroko, was born on 3 October 1954, at Ondo Town in Ondo State, Nigeria. His father, Atiku Bamidele Mimiko, was the son of Pa Famimikomi, a son of Chief Ruwase Akinmeji, and a grandson of High Chief Adaja Gbegbaje of the Ondo Kingdom. Mimiko's father was a sawmill manager and a cocoa plantation farmer. He was also a social commentator on national and global developments and a philanthropist. His mother, Muinat Mimiko (née Ogunsulie) was a trader until her retirement. In 1990, Mimiko married Olukemi Adeniyi who studied French language at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife. They have four children.
Education
Mimiko began school at St. Joseph's Primary School Aponmu near Akure, St. Patrick Primary School, Yaba at Ondo in the early 1960s. He attended St. Joseph's College, Ondo from 1966 to 1971. He was a Higher School Certificate (HSC) Student at the Gboluji Grammar School, Ile-Oluji between 1971 and 1972. Mimiko began medical school at the University of Ife in 1972. He was Student Representative Council (parliament) 1975-1976 and chairman of its Special Honours Committee (1976-1977), member of Student's Union Electoral Commission 1976-1977, and public relations officer of International Students Association 1977-1978. He received a B.Sc. Health Science Degree in 1976, and the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery in 1980. Mimiko is registered with the Nigerian Medical and Dental Council as a Medical Practitioner.