26th April, 2017
The wife of Anambra governor, Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano, has called for proper education and maturity of the girl-child before marriage.
She made the call at a meeting with community leaders and stakeholders when she visited some border communities, including Mkpunando Otu in Anambra East Local Government Area on Wednesday.
She also advised parents in the communities to allow their daughters to attend good schools for academic qualification and achieve some levels of maturity before giving them out in marriage.
According to her, the move is to discourage early pregnancies and allow the girl-child to be matured enough to cater for her needs.
The governor’s wife said “the sight of young girls with pregnancies and some carrying babies is not encouraging.
“The way to get the best out of these girls is not early marriage, but by ensuring that they are trained and able to fend for themselves.
“We have set up centres where they can be trained in handicrafts and other trades.
“I want you to encourage them to learn something new and I can assure you that they will make everyone proud.”
She said that under her pet project “Caring Family Enhancement Initiative (CAFÉ)’’, she opened a Skills Acquisition Centre at Enugwu Otu for the training of the girl-child to serve the community and its environ.
The centre, she noted, had already enrolled 200 boys and girls currently training in tailoring and fashion design, computer training, soap making, bakery and confectionery and vulcanising.
Obiano told participants at the inauguration of the centre that youths from neighbouring communities would also be trained to learn new trades and life sustaining skills.
She reiterated her readiness to empower trainees who graduated from the centre with equipment and start-up capital, in line with the practice of CAFÉ.
She then urged the trainees to make good use of the centre.
Earlier, Mr Chinedu Obidigwe, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Political Matters, who hails from the community, expressed happiness that the governor fulfilled his promise to people of the area.
He also lauded the governor for giving them “access to the rest of Anambra.”
The Transition Committee Chairman of Anambra East Local Government Area, Chief Pius Ifeadi, thanked the governor’s wife for visiting the communities and for seeing to their welfare.
Mrs Francisca Ananwude, Woman Leader of Mkpunando Otu, also praised the governor’s wife “for taking care of the less privileged and for ensuring that the governor attended to the needs of respective communities.”