By Dipo Olowookere
Women in Lagos State have been charged to utilize the opportunity provided by various skill acquisition centres built by the government to get skills for their economic empowerment.
This charge was given by wife of the Governor, Mrs Bolanle Ambode, at the commissioning of Funmilayo Mobolaji Johnson Skill Acquisition Centre in Ajah, a suburb of Lagos, donated by two firms, Huawei Technologies Limited and Fortis Project Services.
Mrs Ambode said it was not fashionable for women to be idle and expect the husband to bankroll the family expenses, stressing that having something to contribute to home upkeep will go a long way in lifting the family.
According to her, ‘It is not advisable that ladies and women should live entirely on the income of their husbands. It is always helpful that the woman has something to contribute to the upkeep of the home. It also puts her in a respectable position in the family’.
She disclosed that, “Lagos State has no less than seventeen skill acquisition centres, located around the State, for the purpose of training people, especially women, ladies, widows and school drop-outs in various skills like leather works, computer studies, bead and hat-making etc.”
Mrs Ambode also said that the establishment of the employment trust fund by the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode was to help people become entrepreneurs, by providing funds for good business ideas and to those with skills to establish their own businesses.
She commended both companies for building the centre, which according to her, had brought great empowerment opportunities closer to the people.
In her own address, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs Lola Akande, commended the firms for their corporate social responsibility initiative, noting that the gesture would go a long way in reducing unemployment among women in the state.
Also speaking at the event, the Chinese Consul-General in Nigeria, Mr Lao Xiao, described Lagos as the pearl of West Africa, adding that Nigeria and China will always remain strategic partners for mutually beneficial economic relations.
Managing Director of Fortis Project Services, Mr Richard Adebayo and his Huawei Technologies counterpart, Mr.Leo Li, noted that the building of the skill centre, was motivated by their firm’s passion, to improve the welfare of the ordinary people in the State.
Adedapo Adesanya