By DAYo JOHNSON

SECURITY was tight Saturday during the 51st independence anniversary celebrations in Ondo State as Governor Olusegun Mimiko admonished Nigerians to join hands together irrespective of political, religious and tribal differences to steer the nation’s ship to a safe harbour.

Policemen manned the roads leading to the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Centre venue of the celebrations and other strategic points in Akure, the state capital.

Mimiko said Nigerians should at this critic period not allow any distraction that would affect our nation building.

He was optimistic that greater days are ahead of Nigerian despite the hiccups.

The governor, however, said that” no cacophony of dissenting voices from the opposition will distract his government from turning the state into a model for its peers in the federation”.

Mimiko declared that such self-serving antics will only serve as impetus for his administration to work towards taking the state to the next level.

While acknowledging the noticeable challenges in governance since 2009, he assured that “the passionate and unpretentious dedication with which we tackled all these challenges have not diminished.

”Although the minimum wage payment has come into effect since July 2011, payment of approved incentive packages for the health and education sectors will be readily harmonized through dialogue with the relevant unions.”