Following the emergence of the first female Secretary to the State Government (SSG) in the history of Oyo State, Governor Seyi Makinde on Monday challenged women across the country to live up to expectations as men are lurking by the corners to take up political posts.
He gave the charge at the swearing in of the new SSG, held at the Executive Council Chambers of the Governor’s Office, Secretariat Ibadan.
It can be recalled that he appointed Mrs Olubamiwo Adeosun as the first female SSG for the state on Friday.
The governor posited that he made a lot of introspection in making a decision to pick the new SSG out of the very eminently qualified personalities he had before him.
According to him: “In taking the decision to pick her out of the very eminently qualified personalities I had before me, I did a lot of introspection. There is this usual divide between politicians and technocrats.”
“Some people would argue that the best person for the job is a politician, who understands the terrain as they put it. Others would say the engine room of government must be manned by a technocrats, who knows his or her onions.
“But I must say we need a focused government which will deliver on its terms. We need capacity and lots of efficiencies and we need a packed personality who in a way, encapsulates all of that.”
He added that: “I must tell you that a number of questions agitated my mind as I moved to take the final decision. How do we marry all these qualities needed in one person? How do we satisfy the contending interests?”
“These are concerns that must be answered and when I finally zeroed in on Mrs Adeosun, I needed not to think twice to conclude that we have made the right choice,” Â he averred.
While highlighting the essence of governance as service to the people, the governor expressed confidence in the new SSG as being capable of propelling the government to expected cruising level that such achievements would be rolled out within the first 100 days in office, adding that her inclusion as a key factor in the service agenda was one decision that would bring great returns of investment.
“In arriving at the choice of Mrs. Adeosun, we have picked a person, whose wealth of experience would lift the standard of our service delivery and performance,” Makinde stated.
He doused insinuations that the appointment of the SSG was not based on sentiment, feminism or other undue sentiments, stressing that: “we are not just tapping to her qualities but also making a statement to our people out there to educate their wards, whether boy or girl. There is no limit to the level an educated person cannot rise to.”
“Let me say that her appointment does not amount to shutting the door on our supporters. Only one person can occupy a seat such as that of the governor or SSG at a time.”
“I assure you that we will ensure we deploy the capabilities of every individual in their areas of strength and as appropriate,” the governor maintained.
He, however, explained that the need to balance his cabinet along gender and religious considerations informed his decision of choosing a woman to hold the position.
Packaged by Ojo Peter
