Princess Odu who had already made history as the first female SSG in the state, declared that she’s the most qualified person to succeed Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu in office, saying she’s indeed loyal to the governor right from inception of his administration in 2016.
Princess Odu, who was a former Commissioner for Education in the state between 1995 and 1999, and later Commissioner for Women’s Affairs, emphasised that women’s leadership qualities would engender rapid socio-economic development “because of the family-centric blood that flows in them.”
The pioneer Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), expressed confidence in sustaining and building on the “Redeemed Agenda” legacies of Governor Akeredolu with a wealth of experience in governance spanning 27 years. She noted that since the beginning of the third republic in 1999, no woman been elected as governor in the state that was created in 1976, thereby declaring herself as the best hand in All Progressives Congress (APC) to succeed Governor Akeredolu in 2024. The SSG said: “Let us test a woman. The trailblazing character of Ondo State will start from all of us to convince people, why they should look towards that direction.
“And you are not just talking about anyhow woman, but someone whom you have tried and tested. Somebody who has been around here, somebody who knows her onions, somebody who knows the system. “Because I am bold to say that of all the people who have come out to be aspirants, none of them is as exposed to governance as myself. I have been around this place, in and out of governance in the last 27 years. So, I know what governance is. “The men have done very well, I am not disputing that, but all I am saying is that we should try women.
“A mother, a wife, a sister who has the compassion of motherhood in her, a woman who can’t hear the cry of her baby and turn a deaf ear. Somebody who will lift the state higher, somebody who is accessible, somebody who will be your own person,. Somebody who will listen to your plights and somebody who will actually work for the good of Ondo state.
“I am so confident that having the first female governor will not be a difficult thing. It depends on the people and their mindsets, the way we talk to people. If you as journalists who have gone far and wide and seen what happens in other climes, you keep telling people that it’s high time we made a woman the governor of the state.”She added that “any society that promotes the dignity of women and gives them the opportunity to thrive will experience rapid development.”