From: Taiwo Oluwadare, Ibadan
Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has said his wife, Florence, will never go into politics despite her contributions to the welfare of women and children in the society.
The governor stated this, on Monday, while commissioning the Secretariat of Oyo State Officials’ Wives’ Association (OYSOWA) at the office of the First Lady, in Ibadan. He said his wife’s gesture to help less privileged was not borne out of motive to go into politics.
The governor said: “there are calls that my wife should contest for Senate or any other political office but my wife will never do that because her goodwill to help other is her natural attribute.
“The doctorate honour she was given by Ajayi Crowther University and among other honours are because of her true contribution to the welfare of people and their well-being.
“I want to tell you that without her, I wouldn’t have become what I’m today and I’m saying this to encourage other women to do same. We are here today to celebrate quality and quantity of life to see a wife doing what complement what her husband is doing.
OYSOWA is meant to educate and promote womanhood, men, household and society generally. This administration with support of my wife has brought peace to homes, and made our women better. The history of this state cannot be completed without my wife”, Gov. Ajimobi stated.
Earlier in her address, the wife of the state governor, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi said that OYSOWA was birthed in the year 2012 to give the wives of public officials in Oyo State, for the first time, a platform to come together to create a synergy of minds, thoughts and resources and to give them a voice that could be heard all across the nation and even across the world.
She continued: “from the first OYSOWA National Women’s Summit, held in that year 2012, the association has waxed stronger and the summits have gotten bigger and better over the years. I have the pleasure to inform you that for this year 2017, which is the sixth summit, we are planning for an unprecedented, one thousand delegates from all over the country and we have as one of our special guests, former vice-president of Zimbabwe, Joyce Mijuru, an amazon in her own right, who would not have honoured our invitation if she did not think that we are an impactful association.
“This 2017 Summit is a special one and one that will always be remembered because planning it was the catalyst that heralded the accelerated construction of the edifice you see here today. Over the years, the planning committee meetings were always held in my office but this year, we all agreed that OYSOWA is a phenomenon that has come to stay and as such it needs its own secretariat to ensure its smooth operations as well as its continuity even in the years to come. We got to work and I am very delighted and very proud to inform you all that this building and everything in it was funded from the OYSOWA purse without any external support and was completed in less than three months”, Mrs. Ajimobi stated.