Ambode empowers widows, others with N10m

Ambode empowers widows, others with N10m

Monday, March 7, 2016 4:37 pm


Mrs Bolanle Ambode

Mrs Bolanle Ambode


Kazeem Ugbodaga

Wife of the Lagos State Governor, Bolanle Ambode, has doled out over N10 million to widows, triplet mothers and some Non-Governmental Organisation, NGOs in the state as means of empowerment.

The empowerment programme, done in conjunction with the Hope for Women Foundation (HOFOWEN), saw the widows and others receiving cheques ranging from N100,000 and above.

The beneficiaries included 32 widows, 14 mothers with multiple births, five NGOs and others. The event was held at the State House, Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria on Monday.

Speaking at the empowerment programme, Ambode decried the plights of widows in the country and called adequate support for them.

“Societies thrive when the burden on widows are made lighter and the less privileged are assisted in a number of ways to live better lives. No society thrives in an atmosphere where this class of people are continuously ignored or schemed out of welfare calculation,” she said.

According to her, the condition of widowhood is a bitter pill that no woman ever wants to swallow as she is left to cater for herself and the children after the demise of her husband, apart from being subjected to debasing cultural practice.

Ambode also said mothers who gave birth to multiple babies also needed to be supported as the burden of taking care of these babies is enormous. She charged widows to take the issue of economic empowerment very seriously.

“They must seek to be gainfully employed through a regular paid job or vocational skill that would generate regular income to meet their vital needs. A stable income gives some guarantee of happiness and preserves the dignity and self-worth of the women,” she said.

Ambode stated that as government could not do everything alone, people must come forward to support the less privileged.


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