The Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, yesterday presented certificates to 1,500 artisans and traders in the state who were retrained on what the government described as “a modular employability programme.”
The Ambode administration said the programme was part of its efforts to scale up the informal sector with the view to making members meet up with current realities.
The beneficiaries, drawn from various associations under the auspices of the Lagos State Council of Tradesmen and Artisans (LASCOTA), were solely trained by the state government for enhanced productivity in a total of 24 trades, including entrepreneurship, computer appreciation and writing business proposals.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony and 8th Tradesmen and Artisans Day held at the De Blue Roof, LTV 8 Compound, Ikeja, Gov Ambode said the role of artisans and traders in the pyramid of socio-economic development of the nation was very critical in achieving sustainable growth and overall prosperity of the people.
He said that it was in recognition of such fact that his administration had shown a commitment towards ensuring that the event was not only sustained eight years after, but also designed to be more rewarding.
The governor, who recalled various initiatives, such as the N25 billion Employment Trust Fund (ETF), designed to scale up the informal sector, assured traders and artisans in the state that government would continue to implement strategies and programmes to promote their businesses and create conducive environment for their operation.
He said, “Giving the strategic role of the informal sector in our economic development in this state, our administration has opened an online portal designed to facilitate interaction among artisans, customers/end-users and relevant stakeholders.
“It is our primary role to make it easy and convenient for people in need of high quality service to meet reliable, trusted and verifiable service providers. It is also aimed at enhancing the productivity, competitiveness, creativity and vitality of this sector.”
While expressing excitement with the fact that it was the tailors from the state that produced the academic gowns used for the graduation, the governor said moving forward, the state government would now start to officially engage traders and artisans on jobs that would improve their economy.
Earlier, in his opening remarks, the Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mr Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti, said that since the last edition of the event, Gov Ambode, as requested by LACOSTA, had already approved a N12 million annual subvention to the association and increased the number of beneficiaries in 2017 to 1500 from the 500 that were trained in 2016. Also, LACOSTA president, Alhaji Nurudeen Buhari, commended Gov Ambode for keeping his promise of scaling up the informal sector and prioritizing the interest of artisans and traders in the state.
Buhari said that as promised by the governor, many of their members had benefited from the ETF loan, among other fulfilled promises.
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