By John Odunayo
“The centre trains and exposes youth to the trade. This is a better and a more sustainable way of empowering the youths than giving them handouts”
Members of Ekiti State Executive Council have hailed the empowerment initiatives of the Wife of the Governor, Dr Olayemi Oyebanji, describing them as impactful and crucial to the social economic development of the state.
They stated this during a visit to the Adire Ekiti Hub, one of the pet projects of the First Lady, in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday.
The EXCO members, who were conducted round the facility, by the First Lady, Dr Oyebanji and the Director of the Centre, Dr (Mrs) Abimbola Oni, expressed their desire to partner the Adire Ekiti Hub to promote and preserve the indigenous textile craft as well as enhance the economic potentials of the local craft.
The Secretary to the State Government, Dr (Mrs) Habibat Adubiaro, who spoke on behalf of the EXCO members, commended the governor’s wife, for the initiative aimed at creating jobs opportunity and giving economic empowerment to hundreds of Ekiti youths and women.
Describing the initiative as impressive, encouraging and impactful, Dr Abubiaro said the State Executive Council would collaborate with the hub to create a sustainable ecosystem where the traditional crafts can thrive in the modern market.
She hinted on the resolve of the council members to also facilitate training and empowerment of youths from their respective constituencies, patronise the local craft as well as promote the use of Adire fabrics within government functions and events to further boost the visibility of the local textile industry.
The SSG said, “The EXCO members are here Your Excellency at the Ekiti Adire hub, which is one of your initiatives of promoting local craftsmanship and also empowering our youths. We thank you for establishing this centre and we appreciate all your efforts at supporting and empowering our youths, elderly citizens and widows through this pet project and other initiatives.
“The Exco members are prepared to collaborate with this centre to look for how we can empower people from our different constituencies so as to contribute to the development of this place and Ekiti in general” the SSG said.
The governor’s wife, while appreciating the EXCO members for visiting the Adire Ekiti Hub, said the hub has trained and empowered over 400 youths from the Ekiti Central and Southern Senatorial District of the state with another batch of 200 youths from Ekiti South Senatorial District set to commence training.
The First Lady, who explained that the Adire product is now much in demand by various groups in the state and in diaspora, charged Exco members to embrace the locally made products, which has a distinct quality, noting that this would not only boost the local economy of the state but also foster a sense of pride in the state’s cultural heritage.
“Our vision for Adire Ekiti is not for profit making. Our vision is to train and empower as many youths as possible, starting with 600 youths from the three senatorial districts. We also have an arrangement where the Hub buys finished products from the youths, thereby enhancing their capacity and business growth.
“EXCO members can also send youths in their constituencies here for training. The centre will train and expose them to the trade. This is a better and a more sustainable way of empowering the youths than giving them handouts.”, Dr Oyebanji said.
