Lagos State Government has reiterated its commitment towards empowering women, particularly the downtrodden and the vulnerable people, with adequate information that will help in giving them financial empowerment and sustainability.
The State Government said it is committed to promoting Human Capital Development through women’s financial inclusion and data-driven advocacy by the Office of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Dr. Oreoluwa Finnih, spoke about the Lagos State Government’s commitment during the flag-off of the sensitisation programme tagged “Promoting Human Capital Development (HCD) in Lagos State through advocacy for women’s financial inclusion in hard-to-reach communities and increased awareness of data’s role in delivering better HCD outcomes.”
Speaking during the event held at the Palace of Olu of Iwaya Kingdom in the Yaba area of Lagos State, Dr. Finnih said “The sensitisation programme is about financial inclusion for women. It is about educating women on how to treat and handle money, pricing goods and services appropriately, and helping them with policies that will make their money grow.”
She said, “The sensitisation programme is empowerment. We are empowering women with more information. It is not only when you start distributing money that you empower people. In fact, the money you distribute will not go far if you don’t let people know how to handle funds. We are teaching people how to ensure money is well utilised.
“For us at the Office of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we are working in hard-to-reach communities, and Iwaya Community happens to be one of them. We are targeting places where we know there may be a bit of financial difficulty. We are not doing it alone. We are working with many private partners and state agencies to ensure that people receive all the services that the state offers.”
Speaking during a visit by Dr. Oreoluwa Finnih and her entourage, which comprised many development partners to his palace, the Olu of Iwaya Yaba Kingdom, His Royal Majesty Oba Suleiman Owolabi Ogun Oloko, appealed to individuals, organisations, and the private sector to support the government’s efforts and policies designed to help the indigent in various communities.
“I want the government to partner with us in this kingdom to help people who are in need. The downtrodden and vulnerable people need help. The sensitisation programme by the Office of the Sustainable Development Goals of the Lagos State Government is a very great initiative. We always look forward to this. It is a welcome idea, and we don’t want it to be limited to the flag-off of the event today. We are open to many more to come, he said.
Also speaking, one of the development partners, Margaret Omanibe, said the sensitisation programme “will greatly benefit people because financial inclusion is very important for any business to thrive. If women don’t have a culture to save, they can never be rich. The training on financial inclusion makes them knowledgeable about the money they manage and grow businesses.”
During the sensitisation programme which lasted for over four hours, 100 women in the Iwaya Community were trained on financial inclusion, and the participants commended Lagos State and the development partners for flagging off the campaign in their community.