The Olu of Epe Kingdom, Oba Shefiu Esinlokun Adewale, has said that the recent training of over 1,700 Epe youths in agro-business will go a long way in reducing poverty in the area.
Oba Adewale made the remark while commending the organisers of the ongoing Youth Empowerment, Leadership and Entrepreneurship Summit, the National Image Magazine, for deeming it fit to organise the training and empowerment programme in Epe.
In a statement made available to Community News on Sunday by the programme coordinator, Seyi Bamigbade, the Olu of Epe, who spoke at the ceremony marking the completion of the first leg of the programme, while thanking the Lagos State governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, for supporting the initiative, solicited for more support to lift the entire people in the locality out of poverty.
On his part, the Director of Informal Sector and Special Duties, Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mr. Owolabi Kamson, expressed happiness over the success of the empowerment programme, saying if more youths were productively engaged, it would translate to more income for the state, greater development and prosperity.
Bamigbade, however, said that the second leg of the first phase of the training programme would kick-off this week at the Farm Service Centre, Oko-Oba, Lagos, adding that about 2,000 youths were scheduled to be trained.
It will be recalled that the organisers of the programme had, two months ago, promised to train and empower 5,700 youths from 20 local government areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) of Lagos State.