Lagos State Government has expressed its readiness to train and empower about 15,000 residents on the use of coconut shell for different arts and crafts that would produce various usable items at home and in offices.
Speaking on Monday at the commencement of a training session on the use of coconut shell at Farm Service Centre, Oko-Oba, Agege, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, said that the state government is harnessing every available opportunity to create job opportunities for the citizens, stressing that over 15,000 youths and women would be empowered by the Ministry, through the Lagos State Coconut Development Authority (LASCODA).
She explained that the empowerment programme organised by LASCODA is in tandem with the T.H.E.M.E.S. Agenda, noting that the government will produce independent entrepreneurs, who would in return become employers of labour.
Olusanya, represented by the General Manager of LASCODA, Mr Dapo Olakulehin, stated that the beneficiaries would be trained in batches for several weeks to make them passionate about creative arts and willing to acquire necessary skills for the production of arts and craft from coconut shells.
According to her, "the training is practical oriented and at the end, the trainees will be supported with basic tools, while the outstanding ones would be given the opportunity of being certified by the Entrepreneur Development Institute (EDI) of CBN for accessibility to credit facilities to expand their trade.
The Commissioner implored the trainees to maximise the opportunities presented by the training to acquire the needed skills to excel in the craft-making venture, stressing that the government is determined to surpass the accomplishments recorded under the empowerment initiative last year.
