21st March, 2024
Wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu on Thursday empowered 350 Lagosians with vocational tools to eke out a living for themselves.
Sanwo-Olu presented the vocational tools to the beneficiaries at the State House, Ikeja.
Some of the tools presented to the beneficiaries are hair dressing kits, popcorn machines, shoe-making pack, tailoring machine, vulcanizing machine, grinding machines, among others.
Speaking at the event, Sanwo-Olu said the empowerment is part of her office’s commitment to the well-being and prosperity of every individual in the State.
She said the empowerment also stood as a testament to her office’s collective resolve to empower communities, uplift the marginalized, and foster a culture of inclusivity and progress as partners in a shared vision of a greater Lagos.
“Empowerment in form of cash, vocational tools and human resources are some of the ways which the Office of the First Lady corroborates the efforts of some State Government MDAs that have the core mandates for human capacity development and empowerment programmes.
“From the various interventions from the Office of the First Lady of Lagos State, empowerments of the citizens occupy a unique position because this gesture is extended to both young and old men and women.
“From skills training and entrepreneurship development to healthcare awareness and educational support, our efforts at the Office of the First Lady are multifaceted and far-reaching. We believe that by investing in our people, we are investing in the prosperity of our state,” she said.
According to the First Lady, other strategic areas of support and interventions by the Office included the fight against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), health care interventions, social welfare programmes for orphanage homes, educational interventions, fight against drug abuse, boy-child and girl-child initiatives, empowering the youth and women, and caring for the physically and financially disadvantaged, among others.
Sanwo-Olu stated that today’s event aligned with her office’s vision of impacting lives and building legacies through the utilization of need-based platforms, social advocacy, and facilitating and leading collaborative actions.
She said the sensitization aspect of this programme tagged ‘Financial Literacy’ had been held before now and that she believed that the beneficiaries had been properly briefed about how to handle and utilize these tools.
The First Lady urged the beneficiaries to put the tools to good use to liberate themselves and become independent individuals.
She added that her office had put a mechanism in place to ensure that these items were used for the purposes for which they had been given.
“Our aim at the Office of the First Lady is to initiate supports that will help reduce poverty to the barest minimal and foster economic growth, especially among the vulnerable and less privileged.
“As part of the inclusive policy of the present administration, we have ensured that different sections of the society are captured under this empowerment Programme. We have beneficiaries from vulnerable groups such as youth, widows, and persons with disabilities,” Sanwo-Olu said.