Ikosi-Isheri Local Council Development Area marked a significant milestone on Monday, July 21st, with the graduation ceremony of the 3rd edition of the Princess Samiat Abolanle Bada Free ICT Training Program. The event was a testament to the LCDA’s commitment to empowering its residents with digital skills.

Princess Samiat Abolanle Bada, the Mayoress of Ikosi-Isheri LCDA, expressed pride in the program’s impact, noting that it has been transformational for many lives in the community. She highlighted that this edition of the program was exceptional, both in scope and impact, with expanded training areas including Full Stack Web Development, Technical Engineering & Cinematography, Graphic Design & Animation, Creative Design & Brand Packaging, Desktop Publishing, Screen Art Production, and Administrative Management.

The Mayoress emphasized that the program is a deliberate strategy to make Ikosi-Isheri LCDA a hub of digital talent, with the potential to create jobs rather than just seeking them. She congratulated the graduands, urging them to use their newfound skills wisely and become inspirations to others. The graduands are now ambassadors of what is possible when government and community work together for progress.

She expressed her commitment to empowerment programs like this, promising to scale up the initiative in the second term, introducing more advanced courses and creating wider access for youths and residents. She thanked the facilitators, the ICT team, and the people of Ikosi-Isheri LCDA for their hard work and support.

Mayoress described the graduands as the pride of Ikosi-Isheri, encouraging them to go and make the community proud.

Oluwagbenga Ogunleke, the Chief Financial Officer of Forge Intellitech Services Limited, a tech organization, expressed gratitude to the Mayoress for embracing their entrepreneurship and academic progress initiatives.

Ogunleke said, “We have a connection with the Ikosi-Isheri LCDA, which gave us the opportunity to train the Ikosi-Isheri LCDA youth, empowering them instead of letting them roam the streets.”

Ogunleke noted that the Mayoress’s initiatives have positively impacted the Ikosi-Isheri youths.

When asked about plans to monitor and evaluate the impact of the training, Ogunleke revealed that the firm would provide employment opportunities to certified students and offer tokens to help them start their own businesses. “Part of what we have done is that those who have been certificated by our organization will be given employment straight away from our organization, and we are presenting some amount of tokens for them to become entrepreneurs and start their own business,” he said.

Olajide Ifedayo, a female graduant from data analysis class, said the training in data analysis has been highly beneficial for her. She noted that being a student of economics, data analysis is a part of economics, and the training has given her a significant advantage in her field of study. Ifedayo appreciated the in-depth knowledge she gained in various software, including MySQL, API, and Excel. She also mentioned that universities may not cover all aspects of a field, which is why she opted for the training, to gain practical skills that would be useful in her course.

Chinonso Emmanuel, learned desktop publishing through the program and credited her mother for encouraging her to participate. She expressed her happiness and gratitude to the Mayoress for the opportunity.