Posted by By Tony Amadi on
A total of 9, 727 youths and women on Saturday, July 2, 2005, Emohua local government area of Rivers State, passed out in a graduation ceremony of The Adolescent Project (TAP) and the skills acquisition programme of the wife of the state governor, Justice Mary Odili.
A total of 9, 727 youths and women on Saturday, July 2, 2005, Emohua local government area of Rivers State, passed out in a graduation ceremony of The Adolescent Project (TAP) and the skills acquisition programme of the wife of the state governor, Justice Mary Odili.
This number, Justice Odili stated, is, no doubt, the largest recorded in a single graduation ceremony in the history of the programmes.
She remarked that the objective of the adolescent project assisted skills acquisition programmes was to provide and teach skills to indigenes and non-indigenes alike to help beneficiaries improve on their life styles.
She said: "Beneficiaries should not be afraid or wonder where their products would be sold. We have a ready market in the state and in the country".
On the inauguration of the executive of the National and International Grassroots Association of Nigeria (NIGAN) in the local government area, Justice Odili noted that the essence was to enable women at that level to embark on activities that would promote love, peace and respect for human dignity. She, therefore, charged the executive of the chapter not to allow the body to be dormant.
Chairman of the local government area, Engr. Emeka Woke, recalled that the first batch of graduands in the area was produced in July 2002, three years after which the area could boast of the largest number of graduands. He gave a grant of N1 million to TAO and another N1 million to NIGAN.
House of Assembly member for Emohua, Chidi Lloyd, who was chairman of the occasion, described Justice Odili as an embodiment of love, and urged NIGAN to help seek the face of God in prayers for the 2007 presidential ticket and the 50% derivation demanded by the South-South.
Wife of the local government chairman, Mrs. Grace Emeka Woke, in a welcome address, pointed out that the occasion marked Justice Odili's maiden visit to the area since the inception of the new administration.
She also revealed that the previous graduation of trainees in the area evoked so much interest, while many more were still looking forward to the "magic touch that has changed lives of women in the rural communities". She commended Justice Odili for such laudable projects as TAP and the Traditional birth Attendant Programme (TBA), and congratulated he for her elevation to the court of appeal.
Justice Odili also commissioned the skills acquisition centre (SAC) at Emohua, and paid a courtesy visit on the paramount ruler of the area.