Thirty-seven beneficiaries of the Adolescent Girls’ Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) Second Chance Education Programme under the Ekiti State Ministry of Education were on Tuesday empowered with working tools and start-up grants during their graduation ceremony held at the First Lady’s Conference Hall, Ado-Ekiti.
The beneficiaries—13 trained in hairdressing and 24 in fashion design—completed their one-year training at the Agric Olope Transit Home Centre, an initiative designed to give adolescent girls and young women a renewed opportunity to acquire vocational skills and rebuild their lives.
The Wife of the Governor, Prof. Olayemi Oyebanji, in her remarks, said the Second Chance Education Programme demonstrates the government’s conviction that education remains the most reliable tool for liberation and prosperity.
She cautioned the graduands against selling the equipment provided, stressing that the tools were meant to create value, inspire dignity and promote independence.
The first lady also encouraged them to leverage the festive season to attract customers, follow industry trends online, and use social media to create market visibility.
In her goodwill message, the Special Adviser on Women Affairs, Mrs. Peju Babafemi, noted that the event coincided with the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, making the empowerment symbolic and timely. She urged the beneficiaries to make effective use of the tools for the betterment of their lives.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser on Information, Rt. Hon. Taiwo Olatunbosun, applauded the initiative, stating that investment in people is essential to economic growth and poverty reduction. He added that the beneficiaries would eventually become employers of labour, contributing to the state’s development.
The Head of Service, Dr. Folakemi Olomojobi, described the programme as “the birth of dreams,” appreciating the government’s commitment and charging the graduands to be good ambassadors of the initiative and the state.
Earlier in her welcome remarks, the Commissioner for Education, Dr. Bimpe Aderiye, announced that the government procured 24 sewing machines, 13 hair dryers, and also provided N20,000 start-up cash seeds for all 37 graduands.
In her closing remarks, the AGILE Project Coordinator, Mrs. Yewande Adesua, said the beneficiaries would be given three months to settle into their businesses, after which monitoring teams would visit to assess their growth and development.
Responding on behalf of the graduands, Motunrayo Ologunja pledged that they would remain good ambassadors and make the state proud.
Dignitaries present included the Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Education and Social Inclusion, Mrs. Adetoun Agboola; Director-General, Bureau of Civic Orientation and Citizenship, Mrs. Olawunmi Famuyiwa; Chairman, Teaching Service Commission, Mrs. Rhoda Ojo; and the representative of the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Chief Yusuf Fanimo, the Elemukanse of Ado-Ekiti.