The governor, while speaking at the swearing in ceremony of the newly-appointed special advisers at the Executive Council Chamber of the Governor's Office, Ibadan, said pressure involved in appointing the new special advisers was borne out of the willingness of several indigenes to serve his administration.
He urged the new appointees to be mindful of the fact that they were selected out of several people, who were equally qualified, able and willing. Governor Ajimobi enjoined them to put in their best to justify their appointment.
``The appointment of a Special Adviser is a position of trust and responsibility. You are expected to know more than the commissioners and even me, in order to advise me. Therefore, you must see your appointment as a rare opportunity and discharge your duties to the best of your ability,'' the governor said.
He urged the new appointees not to take with levity the content of their oath of office, averting their minds to the key words therein which he said would be able to make them succeed in whatever portfolio was assigned to them.
Ajimobi advised them to do justice to all without any fear or favour saying that if they abided by the dictates of these injunctions, they would do their best.
He also urged the new appointees not to take as mere theory their oath to keep secret proceedings at the executive council meeting and asked them to maintain confidentiality in all their endeavours while in government.
The governor attributed the re-appointment of some of the special advisers to their contributions to the success of his administration during their first appointment, adding: ``You made pass-marks, for you to be able to get re-appointed into the cabinet, but you must always reflect on your activities in order to notice your areas of imperfection.''
He told the new appointees not to be afraid of criticisms, saying: ``Whatever you do, people will criticize you; it is normal. Today, people criticize Ajimobi; yesterday, they criticized Alao-Akala; day before, they criticized Ladoja. Many past leaders had equally been criticized. So it is a normal phenomenon''.
The governor claimed full responsibility for the appointment of the children of some traditional rulers as commissioners in the state, saying that none of their fathers lobbied for their appointment.
Rather, he said that he picked them out of his own volition, based on their individual competence, qualification and pedigree, which qualified them for their appointment.
Ajmobi said that children of the traditional rulers were appointed not because of their family background but because they merited the appointment based on their individual track records, adding that he thoroughly perused their credentials before making up his mind to bring them on board.
``I am aware of what some people have been saying about the appointment of the children of some traditional rulers as commissioners. The question is: who among them was not qualified for the appointment?
``Besides, I want to state here that I appointed them by myself. None of their fathers contacted me or requested appointment for any of the commissioners. I perused their papers thoroughly and I discovered that they all had their track records. They all did very well and we are proud of them.
``Let me say that the appointment was to show our respect to the traditional rulers, support for the traditional institution and to recognize the contributions of their respective families to the development of the state,'' the governor said.
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, congratulated the governor on the giant stride he had been making in the development of the state.
He hailed his sense of judgment in the choice of members of his new cabinet, stressing that he (Ajimobi) was only following the footsteps of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, in his style of governance.
Oba Adeyemi also commended the governor's ``reverence and exemplary deference'' to the institution of traditional rulership, assuring him that the present crop of traditional rulers in the state would not disappoint him.
``We shall strive to maintain the dignity of our revered office and serve as a veritable adjunct of pragmatic governance in Oyo State,'' the monarch said.
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