WAPA EMPOWERS 1,200 RESIDENTS AT YEAR 2024 MICRO-ENTERPRISE SUPPORT INITIATIVE 

…. Gives 700 Graduands of Skills Acquisition Centres Free Work Tools.

The Lagos State Government has empowered 1200 vulnerable residents at the Y2024 Micro-Enterprise Support programme, just as it distributed free work tools to 700 graduates of its Skills Acquisition Centres across the State.

Speaking during the support programme held on Tuesday at the Blue-Roof, LTV Complex, Agindingbi, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu enjoined the beneficiaries to consider their achievements as a means for an indigenous economic strategy towards national development.

He said, “It is a well-known fact that around the World, Governments and Private Sectors, as well as Civil Societies are exploring better ways to achieve Poverty Reduction and accelerate women’s empowerment through indigenous economic development strategies, which is the cornerstone of sustainable development”.

The Governor, who was represented at the event by the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, informed that the initiative was part of the multi-faceted approach to addressing the immediate needs of the populace towards long-term poverty reduction solutions.

While highlighting the social safety nets directed at specifics, such as Cash Transfers, Food Vouchers, Healthcare subsidies and access to quality education as proposed measures to mitigate the effects of hardships, the Governor enjoined collaborations amongst budding entrepreneurs in fostering the Micro Enterprise Support Initiative mandate for financial sustainability.

He averred that the MESI programme was organised for 700 students of the Skills Acquisition Centres, who graduated with sterling performances in the Year 2022 and were also among the 4,952 Graduates at the graduation ceremony held in December 2023. He added that other recipients of the programme include the vulnerable and indigent residents of  Lagos State.

In her address, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), Hon. Cecilia Bolaji Dada disclosed that a total of 11,885 recipients had benefited across the five divisions of Lagos State since 2019.

She said, “By empowering individuals through Skills Acquisition programmes and giving them work tools to start their businesses, the government has been creating a social safety net for inclusive growth and economic development since 2019, with a particular focus on financial sustainability for its viable and active residents”.

“It might interest you to know that even today, 60 beneficiaries will receive free live Noiler Chicks for breeding, as an empowerment strategy to ensure women participate in agricultural practices as a means of financial sustenance”, she added.

The Commissioner reiterated that social inclusion for Lagos residents necessitated the adoption of short-term training across 10 settlements for the indigent, vulnerable and faith-based organisations.

The highlight of the programme had 1,200 recipients of the MESI programme receiving Sewing Machines, Professional Hair Dressing kits, Barbing kits with Sterilisers and Generators, Poultry Pens with feeds, Instant Noodles packs with free Camp Gases, Industrial Gas Cookers, Tile-Laying  Machines, Carbonated  Soft Drinks and Milling Machines, all directed at poverty alleviation strategy towards financial independence.

One of the recipients of the Lagos State Micro-Enterprise Support Initiative, Ms. Racheal  Ayodeji, a resident of Ojodu from Ondo State, expressed her gratitude to the Lagos State Government for alleviating her plight as a destitute roaming the Secretariat environment for financial sustainability.

Racheal, who is pregnant and destitute with financial insolvency, was usually seen at the Alausa Secretariat daily seeking alms from passers-by. She was however accosted by a Good Samaritan working with the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation who presented her with an opportunity to alleviate her plight through the Micro-Enterprise Support Initiative.