• As youths ask governor to increase education budget to 25%

Lagos State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs Cecilia Bolaji, yesterday, said ensuring women have access to decent work and social protection is crucial for promoting gender equality and reducing poverty, promising that the state will continue to work earnestly to achieve decent work and social protection despite cultural phenomena that have long existed as norms and practices.

Dada said this at a programme to mark 2023 International Day for Eradication of Poverty.
At the event, 400 widows, elderly men and women as well as persons with disabilities were given N50,000 each to start a business. They were also advised on businesses they could go into with the money.

The commissioner said: “Practically, decent work provides individuals with fair wages, safe working conditions, as well as opportunities for personal and professional growth. This is one virtue that ensures individuals have access to meaningful employment, which allows them to provide for themselves and their families.

“Social protection, on the other hand, provides a safety net for those who are unable to participate in the labour market, such as the elderly, persons with disabilities, and those in vulnerable situations.

“This guarantees access to essential services, healthcare, education, and social assistance, protecting individuals from falling into abject poverty.”

Dada added that so far, over 65,000 households have benefited from various programmes under the state’s HeforShe campaign of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

“The theme for this year’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, “Decent Work and Social Protection: Putting Dignity in Practice for All,” resonates deeply with the mandate of the Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

“We are committed to empowering women and vulnerable individuals, even as we provide them with the opportunities and support which they need to escape poverty in building dignified lives.

“Poverty is not just about income levels; it is a multidimensional issue that affects individuals and communities in various ways. It robs people of their dignity, their aspirations and their ability to fully participate progressive in the values of any given society,” she added.

Dada also stated that the state government and the ministry will not rescind in providing quality education and training opportunities for women, including vocational and technical skills, using the 20 skills acquisition centres across five divisions of Lagos State to enhance their employability and access to decent work.

MEANWHILE, the National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations (NACOMYO), Lagos State chapter has called on Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to increase the budgetary allocation on education to 25 per cent and reduce the tuition fees paid by students in all the state-owned schools to mitigate the effects of petroleum subsidy removal on parents.

The call was made by the Umbrella body for Muslim youth organisations in the state during a press conference organised by the council to celebrate National Youth Day.

The Coordinator of the chapter, Isiaka Salami, while addressing the press, said the government should prioritise youth education in the 21st century.

“It is important to point out that equipping young people with the necessary skills to contribute to nation-building and a sustainable future may be difficult without the right education for them. In other words, the education of the youth is central to the nation’s development. It could be safely inferred that a community, a state, or a nation that neglects proper education of its youth has surreptitiously thrown away the key to nation-building and development.

He reiterated the need to increase budgetary allocation of the education sector, stating that over the years, the state’s education budgetary allocation had hovered around 10 and 12 per cent of the total budget, which falls short of the United Nations’ recommendation of a 25 per cent budgetary allocation for education.