TRADESMEN AND ARTISANS OF LAGOS STATE
– “daju daju Eko o ni baaje”
Ever since the formation of the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment by the incumbent governor of Lagos State – which is in response to the abolition and re-alignment of ministries, departments and agencies – the Lagos state government, has been a vehement and dogged supporter of the informal sector in Lagos state; which is mostly made up of tradesmen and artisans.
As said by Babatunde Fashola during his time as governor and now also reiterated by Akinwunmi Ambode during his, is the conclusion that the Lagos State government will continue to remain committed to making sure that the state of Lagos remains economically viable in Nigeria – by continuously investing in its hub of artisans.
In fact, it’s to this point that has seen the Lagos State Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment – in aegis with the Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB), Lagos State Council of Tradesmen and Artisans (LASCOTA) and co, collaborate in the state in order to train tradesmen and artisans in enhancing their productivity and upgrading their skills.
Pic: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (5th right), with Commissioner for Wealth Creation & Employme nt, Dr. Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti (4th right) and others, during a LASCOTA Executives meeting in September, 2017.
The State’s Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Dr Babatunde Durosimi-Etti, said recently at a sensitisation workshop in Artisans Virtual Market, that the Lagos state government is fully committed to taking care of all tradesmen and artisans – by continuously providing sustainable employment means for them through initiatives set up by the government to assist in the promotion of their businesses.
He further added that the ministry, through the backing of the governor, would also like to see a tangible platform for all artisans to have access to financial services – and thus, creating better job prospects and reducing skill deficiencies among artisans.
Furthermore, as part of new strategies planned by the Lagos state government in boosting the informal sector, will also see the launch of a compendium of registered artisans in the state (aimed in Oct 2017) to expand the informal sector with the overall aim of increasing job opportunities and growing the GDP of the state.
Pic 1 & 2: A recently held capacity building programme hosted by the Lagos State government in Sept 2017
According to the Commissioner, the compendium when fully inaugurated, will go a long way in increasing the number of artisans liable to access the Employment Trust Fund (ETF) set up by the present administration in the state, and as well as assisting residents and potential clients to locate artisans in any part of Lagos. As said by the commissioner, “the compendium will have every artisan having a registration number and can be a sort of reference point for the Employment Trust Fund in assisting artisans to access capital”.
About Cognity Advisory
Cognity Advisory is a pan-African development consultancy firm building partnerships to co-create solutions for Africa’s development challenges. Our work contributes to performance enhancement, improvement in livelihoods and educational outcomes, increased employment opportunities, and the development
of an enabling environment for entrepreneurship to flourish.
We do this mainly through programmatic interventions at organizational and systemic levels, and we work with both private and public sector, governments, development organisations, to bring about significant change and human capital development. With offices in Nigeria and South Africa, our footprint covers the entire continent.