July 5, 2025 — Lagos, Nigeria
The Lagos State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), Hon. Cecilia Bolaji Dada, has reiterated the government’s unwavering focus on initiatives designed to uplift women and combat poverty across the state.
Speaking during an interactive session with beneficiaries and stakeholders of WAPA’s empowerment programmes, Commissioner Dada outlined the various interventions currently being implemented to support vulnerable women, widows, and indigent residents.
According to her, over 10,000 women have benefitted from the Ministry’s vocational skills training and financial literacy programmes, with many already running small-scale enterprises in fashion, catering, hairdressing, and crafts. She added that the empowerment schemes are strategically located across the five divisions of the state to ensure accessibility and inclusion.
“Our goal is to provide women with the tools and confidence to become financially independent. Economic empowerment is the most sustainable form of social protection,” she said.
Commissioner Dada also noted the collaboration between WAPA and other government agencies, private sector partners, and international NGOs to scale impact and ensure the continuity of interventions. She reaffirmed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration’s commitment to reducing poverty by addressing its root causes through targeted training, grants, and access to markets.
Beneficiaries at the event shared testimonies of how the initiatives had helped transform their lives and given them a renewed sense of purpose. The Commissioner concluded by calling on more women to take advantage of available opportunities and pledged that WAPA would continue to serve as a beacon of hope for Lagos women.