L-R: Wife of Ekiti State Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi; State Coordinator, National Directorate of Employment, Dr. Abimbola Oni; Representative of Director-General, NDE, Mrs. Alawiyya Umar, during the opening ceremony for women training in aluminum pot fabrication, in Ado-Ekiti.
Wife of Ekiti State governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, has lauded the National Directorate of Employment initiative of the Federal Government for bridging the poverty and unemployment gap in the country.
She ranked the NDE as one of the best programmes committed to poverty reduction and empowerment of citizens, especially women.
The governor’s wife gave the commendation while declaring open a training workshop on aluminum pot fabrication organised by the Women Employment Unit of the NDE through its state chapter.
One hundred women drawn from the 16 Local Government Areas of the state benefitted from the training programme, which would last for eight days.
Describing pot fabrication as refreshing, innovative and marketable, the governor’s wife said it was a marked departure from tie and dye, hairdressing, soap-making and other handicrafts people were used to.
Restating the state government’s preparedness to continue to assist the NDE, she promised to assist 20 of the trainees with take-off loans through the Ekiti Development Foundation, which she founded.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs, Social Development and Gender Empowerment, Mrs. Fola Richie-Adewusi, also promised to facilitate loans for some of the trainees through the state micro-credit agency.
Besides, Erelu Bisi Fayemi offered to market the end products for the trainees, but advised them to ensure that they were of high standard and quality.
She said, “I will like to make a commitment on behalf of Ekiti Development Foundation (EDF) that we will give loans to at least 20 of
your women for them to be able to start their businesses.
“In this part of the country (South-West), among the Yoruba people, these pots are traditionally given to brides when they go to their
husbands’ homes. So, there is a ready market for them. We can also not do without them for cooking during ceremonies.
“The way you (NDE) designed your programmes and allocate financial and material resources, taking into consideration the interest and the needs of women, makes your agency one of the key agencies in the country working for women empowerment and poverty eradication.”
She stressed the need to continue to empower more women to be active and productive so as to meet the various development goals set at both the state and the national levels.
The NDE State Coordinator, Dr. Abimbola Oni, said that the management opted for aluminum pot fabrication to teach the women handicraft different from the norm and which is hot in demand.
Delivering the keynote address of the Director-General of the Directorate, the Head of Empowerment unit of the Directorate, Mrs.
Alawiyya Umar, urged the beneficiaries not to put the scheme “into shame” by ensuring that they took the training seriously.
Last modified: July 18, 2012