Those who say Ibadan don’t serve a governor twice are poor students of history, says Ajimobi
The governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has denounced those who canvass that Ibadan people do not serve a governor twice, stating that such people were poor students of history.
He made this known on Thursday at the Governor’s Office while swearing-in the 33 Caretaker Chairmen of the state.
According to the governor, such people should cross-check their history books and records to discover that the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief S. L. Akintola, Premiers of the Western Region, ruled the West from Ibadan and were given mandates to rule twice by the people.
“Those who say they don’t do second term in Oyo State should cross-check the records. Chiefs Obafemi Awolowo and Samuel Ladoke Akintola did it twice. Those who say Ibadan people don’t serve anyone twice may not be wrong however but are wrong in the context. What they may be referring to is Ibadan and we are not serving Ibadan people alone but the whole of Oyo State. Perhaps, they are referring to the throne of Kabiyesi, the Olubadan. When someone ascends the throne, it is until that person dies that another person comes to the throne. It means a king only rules Ibadan once and not twice. In any case, we are serving Ibadan people and they are not the ones serving us,” the governor said.
Governor Ajimobi also expressed optimism that with the various unprecedented achievements of his administration, the people would not leave a development-oriented government for those capable of driving them backwards.
He read the riot acts to the newly appointed caretaker chairmen, warning that anyone of them who fails to put the welfare of the people at the front burner of their aspiration would be removed without warning.
The governor charged the caretaker chairmen, 25 of whose tenures were renewed and 8 of whom just got appointed, to be guarded by the fear of God, bearing in mind that they are occupying a position of privilege given to them by God.
“You are occupying a position of privilege with responsibilities attached to it. It does not mean you are the most qualified but God has put you there so you must do the will of God without fear or favour,” he said.
He enjoined them to be guided by integrity and true allegiance to the people, urging them to be faithful to the state, the people of their local governments and Nigeria in general, stating “whatever you do must be in the interest of the state; do what the majority of people like, identify what is best for the people, what is best for the state and ensure it is put above all other interests.”
The governor also enjoined the chairmen to be law-abiding, stressing that they must always act according to the rules.
“You must do according to the law, don’t break the rules and avoid the culture of impunity. If you do this, you will definitely succeed. We have succeeded in Oyo State so far because we administer the state according to the rule of law and the wishes of the people,” he said.
Governor Ajimobi also reminded the chairmen that the position of chairmanship of the local governments which they occupy was to serve humanity.
“The position is meant to improve the living standards of the people. You must not see the position as a way of enriching yourselves. It is a unique opportunity to serve your people,” he said.
While stating that those who were dropped among them were not dropped on account of their incompetence, he said that they were still members of the larger All Progressives Congress (APC) family.
“Those we dropped did their best. We had to make changes as a process of giving others the opportunity to serve and contribute their quotas to the development of the state so you must serve diligently and honestly,” the governor charged.
