By Bilesanmi Abayomi
Agboyi-Ketu Local Council Development Area (LCDA) says no fewer than 500 parents received financial support while 1,000 children benefitted from its Back-to-School Boost Initiative.
The Chairman of the LCDA, Mrs. Adeola Adunni Abubakar, disclosed this on Sunday during the flag-off of the programme in Agboyi-Ketu.
Abubakar said the initiative was introduced to ease the financial burden of parents and prepare children for a smooth return to school in the new academic year.
“As a mother, I see the children of our communities as my own. Their education and welfare remain a prime responsibility of this administration,” she said.
She explained that the council opted to monetise the intervention rather than distribute items, in order to allow parents directly address their children’s most pressing needs.
“Back-to-School Boost is born out of our passion for the total well-being of the children of Agboyi-Ketu LCDA. But what if we provide a school bag for a child whose dire need is a school uniform? Or give books to a child who is hungry and unable to concentrate? Our approach is to empower parents to judiciously provide what their children truly need,” she stated.
Highlighting her administration’s early strides, the council boss noted that less than two months into office, her team had “hit the ground running” with interventions in education, healthcare, infrastructure, and environmental sanitation.
In the education sector, she revealed that the council had paid for 300 General Certificate Examination (GCE) forms for secondary school students, engaged trained nannies and security personnel for the safety of younger pupils, and commenced the upgrade of schools with improved learning facilities, books, and teacher incentives.
On healthcare, Abubakar said the administration would focus on upgrading Primary Health Care Centres, with particular attention to maternal and child health, while also promoting preventive health practices, nutrition, and healthy lifestyles.
She further disclosed that an audit of existing infrastructure had begun to ensure systematic maintenance and timely delivery of new projects in line with the Lagos Mega City agenda.
“Our people deserve quality services. We will not wait for roads and infrastructure to collapse before we act. Prevention will be our watchword, not only in health but across all sectors,” Abubakar said.
The chairman assured residents that her government would build on the efforts of her predecessors while pursuing new initiatives that would make Agboyi-Ketu “the envy of other local councils in Lagos State.”