By Sunday Ani, Lagos
The Ikosi-Ejinrin Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in Lagos on Monday flagged off a two-week empowerment/skills acquisition programme aimed at training unemployed youths and increasing income stream of those who are underemployed.
The council also gave out forms for the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) to 100 students from the area who would partake in the forthcoming November/December examinations.
At the flag-off programme, the Chairman of the LCDA, Akogun Wale Anomo, explained that part of his administration’s electioneering campaign promise was to embark massive empowerment programmes, particularly for youths and the elderly.
Addressing the 100 beneficiaries, Anomo said: ‘We are here today in fulfillment of the promises we made during the campaigns which have to do with the empowerment of our people. We promised that we would change the narratives in all areas and that is why we hit the ground running because for us, four years is just a very short time.
‘This skills acquisition programme is meant to empower you to start something on your own instead of waiting for white collar jobs that are not available. We believe that an idle hand is the devil’s workshop and we don’t want any of our people to remain idle, hence, this empowerment.
‘We are not stopping here. On completion of this particular programme, we would organise another one for people to learn tailoring, hair dressing, furniture making and the likes, and the training may take as long as six months. After graduation, we will buy equipment for everyone that partakes in the training, so that they can start their own businesses. We pray that God will empower us to do this.
‘We are concerned about the education of our youth as well, and that is why we have given out 100 WASSCE forms to some students who will be writing this year’s November/December examination. We have also organised tutorials for them and it is our plan to give university scholarships to those who perform up to our expectations.’
The beneficiaries are expected to receive training in printing on gift items, nylon production, short and braid wigs, production of essential home items, classical catering and food management, makeup and headgear techniques.