AT least 10,000 indigent children in Ekiti State will be provided with Christmas dress made from ankara and other materials during the Yuletide.
The state governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, disclosed this during a meeting with tailors in Ado-Ekiti.
In a press release by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, on Friday, the sewing and distribution of the clothes would take place in designated centres across the 16 local government areas of the state.
Moreover, the governor said he would buy 100 sewing machines to complement those to be used by volunteer tailors during the exercise.
“The 100 sewing machines would later be given out to tailors through a transparent balloting process,” he added.
“When we were young, we always looked forward to the Christmas and New Year festivities that, at least, our parents would buy clothes for us.
“But with the prevailing economic situation in the country, some parents may not be able to do that and we felt we can help to bridge such gap.
“The exercise is part of our stomach infrastructure programme and we have to take care of the needs of our people and make them happy,” he noted.
He said the government was projecting to have five centres for the tailors in Ado-Ekiti and two in Ikere and one each in other local government areas.
Fayose said only children between the ages of one to 10 would benefit from the exercise.