Ambode seeks Lagosians cooperation to eradicate illiteracy

Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Wednesday sought the cooperation of Lagosians to eradicate illiteracy in the state.

According to him, eradication of illiteracy was a step toward building the capacity of next generation of leaders.

Ambode said this during the award of “First Degree and Prize Giving of the 22nd Convocation’’ of the Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos.

According to him, the future of any nation can only be guaranteed when its youths, who form the majority of its population, are educated enough to contribute to the economy and continued sustenance of the country.

“The importance the Lagos State Government attaches to education is reflected in the 12 per cent allocation to the education sector, out of the total 2018 budget.

“The provision of quality education is one of the cardinal duties a government must render to its citizens as education of the youths is paramount to the development of the state.

“ We seek the cooperation of all Lagosians to ensure that we eradicate illiteracy in the state, as well as groom the next generation of leaders and captain of industry,’’ he said .

The governor said that he was encouraged by the progress and success of the state’s Ready Set Work (RSW) Initiative targeted at penultimate and final year students of tertiary institutions in the state.

“The feedback we have from the corporate world is that with adequate and proper mentoring, our graduates can stand tall with their colleagues anywhere across the globe,’’ he said.

According to him, the success story of the RSW initiative is a motivation to increase the scope of the programme to accommodate more students.

He lauded the LASU’s Chancellor, governing council and management for the professional way they have coordinated affairs of the university within the last few years.

“I also commend the entire workforce and students for the way they have worked together to achieve a common purpose.

“The result of this cordial and friendly atmosphere under which you have operated is obvious to all of us and we are proud of the achievement and successes recorded by the university so far,’’ he said.

Ambode, however, promised to support and work with the university in the area of accreditation of all its programmes and ensure that all its facilities and personnel meet required standards.

He congratulated the graduating students and their parents and wished them a promising and successful future.

Earlier, Ambode adopted Mr Adetoro Ogunsanya, the best graduating student for the 2016/2017 academic session of the Lagos State University (LASU), with a Cumulative Grade Point Aggregate (CGPA) of 4.7.

He promised to personally sponsor Ogunsanya, 24-year old from the Department of Business Administration for his master’s programme to any university of his choice, anywhere in the world.

Ambode also gave Ogunsanya N5million.

LASU graduated 29,710 students for the session and 26 students came out in the First Class division.

Also, there were 21,481 first degree graduates, 201 for diploma, 7,982 for Post- graduate and 46 PhD.