NAN-H-95
Suffering
By Lydia Ngwakwe
Lagos, Jan. 25, 2017 (NAN) Mr Michael Ajayi, a board member of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), on Wednesday urged residents in Orile/Agege Local Council Development Authority to take advantage of government programmes and offers to get out of suffering.
Ajayi, who made the call at a one-day interactive forum with members of the community, said that many people lacked knowledge of government offers because they occupied themselves more with watching home videos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the forum had as its theme: “Attainment of Sustainable Development Goals – Role of Community Participation’’.
It was organised by a civil society group, Campaign for Constitutionalism and Human Rights (CCHR), in conjunction with Tenant Rights Project and Public Interest Coalition, comprising 34 organisations.
“I want you all to know today that government both at the national and local levels are investing and fighting hunger and poverty in the country.
“The reason it is as if the result is slow is because of corruption; for us to attain these goals, we must all eliminate corruption.
“It behoves on us as the community to ask questions about government offers where not clear and encourage our young ones to have something doing,’’ Ajayi said.
According to him, this is important to help the people to end hunger and poverty.
He said that LSETF was not an employment agency, but rather an agency which was aimed at assisting businesses to grow.
Ajayi urged the people to be conscious of government programmes, offers and policies, and make judicious use of them as they were available to all residents in the state.
Mrs Abimbola Junaid, the Convener of Arise Nigerian Women, a non- governmental organisation, appealed to women not to relegate themselves to the background wherever they found themselves.
“Women should encourage themselves to join politics, as it is not only for men, and above all, take seriously roles concerning humanity,’’ Junaid said.
Earlier, Prince Toyin Raheem, the Executive Secretary of CCHR, said the time had come for the people to take their destiny in their hands.
“There is hunger and poverty in the land; people can no longer eat and send their children to school. The time to stop that is now.
“We will mobilise to send poverty and hunger away,’’ Raheem said.(NAN)
LED/SOA
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Edited by Oluwole Sogunle