Ekiti equips 100 people with disabilities after vocational training

The Ekiti State Government has equipped 100 people with disabilities with trade and work tools after they completed a vocational training programme in Ado Ekiti. The beneficiaries graduated during a ceremony at the Skills Acquisition Centre for Persons with Disabilities. The programme was organised by the Office of Disability Affairs in partnership with the Office of the Special Adviser on Special Education and Social Inclusion.

Governor Biodun Oyebanji, represented by his Chief of Staff, Oyeniyi Adebayo, said the initiative formed part of his administration’s inclusive governance agenda. He said the combination of training and start-up equipment was intended to promote independence, encourage entrepreneurship and enable people with disabilities to contribute to the state’s economic and social development. The participants received training in information and communication technology, tailoring, hairdressing, shoemaking, catering and hospitality.

The equipment distributed included sewing machines, salon and hairdressing tools, shoemaking machines, ICT equipment and catering materials. The Special Adviser, Adetoun Agboola, said the programme had expanded from 30 participants in 2023 to 40 in 2024, 60 in 2025 and 100 in 2026. She said 10 members of the latest group were parents of children with severe disabilities who had struggled to undertake economic activities because of the care their children required.

Agboola said the Ekiti State Government Therapy Centre for Children with Disabilities had provided a professional care environment, allowing some parents to learn skills and work while their children received support. Oyebanji urged the graduates to use the equipment responsibly and remain committed to building sustainable livelihoods.