Ekiti Trains 100 Persons With Disabilities in Eight-Month Skills Programme

Ekiti State Government has launched an eight-month vocational training programme for over 100 persons with disabilities, widening its economic inclusion drive and reinforcing Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s Shared Prosperity Agenda.

The programme began on Tuesday at the Ekiti State Skills Acquisition Centre, Ilokun, Ado-Ekiti. It targets employable skills and small business capacity, with the state committing to provide working tools to participants at the end of the training.

Speaking at the event, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Education and Social Inclusion, Princess Adetoun Agboola, said the administration designed the programme to meet real labour market needs. She explained that each beneficiary was matched with a vocation based on ability, not sympathy.

Ekiti Trains 100 Persons With Disabilities in Eight-Month Skills Programme

“This government is intentional about inclusion,” she said. “No one is expendable. Disability does not remove value or potential.”

She disclosed that persons with disabilities in Ekiti enjoy free healthcare at primary health centres across the state, a policy that took effect in January 2024. She added that the government had appointed seven persons with disabilities into leadership roles and absorbed 38 into the state civil service within the last three years.

Princess Agboola described the vocational scheme as part of a wider set of interventions across special schools and social support institutions in the state. She urged parents and guardians to stop hiding children with disabilities due to stigma, stressing that many only need opportunity and support to thrive.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the Office of Disability Affairs, Bayo Odewale, said the programme aligns with the centre’s mandate to promote education, empowerment and self-reliance among persons with disabilities.

Mr Odewale revealed that more than 130 persons with disabilities have received training at the centre since its establishment. He said over 95 beneficiaries were trained under the current administration alone.

According to him, the 2026 batch will receive hands-on instruction in ICT, catering and hotel management, shoe making, tailoring and fashion design, hairdressing and cosmetology, as well as soap production. He said the beneficiaries were drawn from all local government areas and local council development areas to ensure fairness.

“This training demands discipline,” he told the trainees. “Punctuality and commitment will determine what you take away from this opportunity.”

The Commissioner for Trade, Commerce and Investment, Tayo Adeola, congratulated the beneficiaries and described Governor Oyebanji as a leader who consistently places the welfare of persons with disabilities at the centre of policy decisions. She urged participants to take the training seriously and use it to secure long-term independence.

Also speaking, the Special Adviser and Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, J.B. Folorunsho, praised the administration’s social inclusion record. He said the appointment of Princess Agboola reflected a deliberate choice rooted in competence and passion.

“She understands the assignment,” he said. “This programme shows it.”

The Director-General of the Office of Transformation and Service Delivery, John Ekundayo, described the training as life-altering and charged participants to remain focused throughout the eight months.

In his remarks, the Commissioner for Regional Development and Intergovernmental Affairs, M.A. Kareem, said the initiative would open new economic paths for the beneficiaries. He commended the Special Adviser for sustained advocacy and delivery.

Speaking for the trainees, Bunmi Afeniforo thanked the state government for what she described as consistent support and practical intervention. She pledged that beneficiaries would use the training to build independent and productive lives.

The event drew senior government officials, including representatives of the Commissioners for Women Affairs and Information, the Chairman of Ekiti State Internal Revenue Service, and the Chairman of the Board of Disability Affairs, among others.

With the programme now underway, the state has placed skills, not sympathy, at the heart of its disability inclusion strategy.