Wife of the Ondo State governor, Chief Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu has attributed the low number of poor people in the state to the development policy thrust of the administration of her husband, Gov Oluwarotimi Akeredolu(SAN).
Mrs. Anyanwu-Akeredolu spoke on Wednesday, March 15 in New York United States of America at the international dialogue on Nigeria’s preparedness for technological change in the context of poverty reduction of women and girls.
Codenamed Redeemed Agenda, the First Lady said the policy thrust which has digital revolution and entrepreneurship as one of its eight-point agenda, has caused a tech revolution in the state.
She noted that while Lagos State has proven to be the technology hub of the country, Ondo State is working hard to become the second tech hub of the country.
The First Lady said the Akeredolu administration has supported the development of Akure Tech-Hub where young minds meet to discuss tech opportunities and proffer solutions to societal challenges.
She also revealed that the state is supporting the establishment of the first e-Village in the world which ensures that budding entrepreneurs are identified, trained and assisted to create jobs and solve present and future challenges.
Mrs. Anyanwu-Akeredolu also disclosed of the inroads made by the state in the area of digital technology.
According to her, the state through the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) had trained 3,000 youths in digital economy.
She further disclosed that the government through the Ondo State Entrepreneurship Agency (ONDEA) is also working to implement a women focused tech project; The Digital Woman.
According to her, the Digital Woman project targets women in rural communities, by creating technology centres where they could be educated on more effective use of technology to automate some of their tedious tasks.
The first lady equally informed of successes of her pet-project, The BEMORE Girls, a programme that has trained more than 3,000 young girls in ICT, solar technology and other life-enhancing skills.
She said the girls aged between 9 and 18 in addition to the training receive upon graduation brand new laptops and solar panels for continuous training beyond the boot camps.
She expressed the desire to mounting the Bemore Boot Camp nationwide to train more girls from across the country on digital skills.
Mrs. Anyanwu-Akeredolu stated that the state realized early enough the impact of technology to poverty reduction and set machineries in motion to apply it in all facets of governance.
She added that the state government has set up e-commerce platforms which small-scale farmers and rural dwellers could leverage on to penetrate larger markets for enhanced sales and profits.
Recall that the National Bureau of Statistics in a survey it conducted in collaboration with National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) placed the poverty rate of Ondo State at 27 per cent.
It is the lowest in the country while Sokoto State has the highest poverty rate of 91 per cent.
