More than 250 less privileged people in Ogun Waterside Local Government area of Ogun State including police officers’ wives, market men and women, community leaders, hunters, artisans, religious bodies, farmers, widows and others have benefited from the third phase of the State Community Empowerment programme 2014.
The programme, which was initiated by the Wife of the State Governor, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun, was aimed at creating opportunities for the less privileged to participate in the economy and improve their earning potentials in order to assist their families fight their way out of poverty.
Speaking while distributing the small scale business items at St. Mary Primary School in Abigi, Mrs. Amosun explained that the programme was aimed at maximising growth opportunities among the less privileged in Ogun State and support them to reach their full potentials.
She said the programme was part of efforts of her Uplift Development Foundation Projects to complement the numerous existing empowerment opportunities provided under the Senator Ibikunle Amosun-led administration to uplift the lives of people at the grassroot.
She noted that the Community Empowerment Programme was borne out of the needs assessment carried out before embarking on the programme where various community leaders and associations were consulted to ensure that the needs of these communities were met to enable them to be self-employed and self-sufficient.
The wife of the Government assured the people that the state government would continue to embark on more people-oriented projects that would boost their economic power by providing empowerment items and cash that would enable them start up their businesses.
According to her, “This initiative is part of effort put in place by the Senator Amosun administration to increase small and medium scale enterprises among rural dwellers, thus improving the quality of lives of the citizenry through capacity building. It is when our people are gainfully employed that they would be able to put food on their table and become self-sufficient.”
In his remarks, the Chairman of Ogun Waterside Local Government, Hon. Tunde Rufai commended Mrs. Amosun for complementing the efforts and good work of the state government, particularly in areas of empowerment, noting that her kind gesture and love for the people would strengthen their support for the government in the mission to rebuild the state.
He encouraged her to sustain the empowerment programme and even do more for the people of Ogun Waterside and other parts of the state and charged the people to use the empowerment items for the purpose it was given to them in order to better their lots and that of their family members.