The Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) has empowered 250 Women from the Nigerian Army Officers Wives Association (NAOWA) with new skill sets, during a four-week entrepreneurship skills acquisition training programme as part of the state government’s poverty reduction strategy.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the training programme held recently at Command Day Secondary School Hall, Ikeja, the Commissioner for WAPA, Mrs. Cecilia Bolaji Dada said the programme was in line with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration’s renewed effort to ease the participants’ challenges and improve their financial status.
In her words: “The present administration under the leadership of Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu understands that skills acquisition training is a vital tool to mitigating the effects of poverty prevalent amongst women. Hence, the state government has initiated several programmes to ease the plights of women residents, including military officers’ wives, in a bid to make them contributors to the socio-economic development of the State”.
While congratulating the beneficiaries, Dada charged them to embrace continuous learning to become masters of their crafts in order to remain relevant in their chosen fields, saying “I encourage you to find new ways of acquiring more knowledge and sharpening your skills, so that you can compete favourably with both local and international competitors”.
She advised interested residents of the state, particularly unemployed persons or those underemployed, to also take advantage of the opportunity provided by the state government through its 19 Skills Acquisition Centres spread across the city to enrol in tuition-free vocational training programmes for a duration of six to 12 months to become empowered and financially independent.
In his address, the Commander of the 9 Brigade, Brigadier General Isangubong Akpamontia, who was represented by Major Tarela Emuren, expressed gratitude to the Ministry for the initiative aimed at improving the welfare of NAOWA members in Lagos.
He said: “I am very impressed by what WAPA has done for NAOWA. I, therefore, urge the beneficiaries to take full advantage of the acquired skills to improve their families’ well-being and the military community in general”.
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The Coordinator of the short-term skills acquisition training programme for Command Day Secondary School, Mrs. NdidiAmaka Akpamontia, applauded the Lagos State Government for its continuous efforts in empowering Military Officers’wives and vulnerable women across the metropolis.
“WAPA understands the saying that ‘when you empower a woman, you have empowered a home’, therefore I am immensely grateful for this opportunity which is geared towards improving the lives of our members”, she said.
Similarly, WAPA has also concluded a four-week skills acquisition training programme organised for 250 women from the Lagos State Chapter of the Police Officers Wives Association (POWA) in nine tuition-free vocations held recently at the POWA Hall, GRA Ikeja.
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The State Commissioner for WAPA, Mrs. Cecilia Bolaji Dada, informed that the programme was organised with the sole objective of improving the lives of wives of Police Officers in Lagos State in a bid to make them financial contributors to the welfare of their families and dependents.
All the graduands were given Certificates of Completion as well as Starter Packs for Wig Making and Hair Braiding, Make-Up and Gele Tying, Tie and Dye, Catering and Confectionaries, Garments Stoning, Pomade Making, Insecticide and Stove Wick, Ankara Craft and Interior Decoration among others.
Two of the beneficiaries of the training programmes, Josephine Ijeh and Amametu Abdul, expressed their gratitude to the Lagos State Government for the programme, saying “We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to have learnt these crafts free of charge and we call on others to take advantage of the unique opportunity provided by the Sanwo-Olu’s administration to acquire vocational skills and be self-dependent”.
