Lagos empowers 6,190 residents with free vocational, entrepreneurial skills

Lagos State has graduated 6,190 residents from a free skills programme designed to help them turn vocational training into income.

The graduates, including 4,225 women and 1,963 men, received certificates at a ceremony held at the De Blue Roof venue of Lagos Television in Ikeja. The programme operated through the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation’s 2025 Skills Acquisition Programme.

Representing Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Secretary to the State Government Abimbola Salu-Hundeyin said the training reflected the administration’s focus on practical skills, household incomes and wider participation in the economy. The governor urged graduates to keep developing their skills, adopt innovation and technology, understand customer needs and use available opportunities.

The state said its Free Skills Acquisition Centres provide tuition-free vocational and entrepreneurial training that can lead to businesses, employment and improved livelihoods. The programme operates through 19 centres across Lagos’s five IBILE divisions and a Women Development Centre in Agege, bringing the total number of locations to 20.

The ministry also highlighted its Micro Enterprise Support Initiative, which helps beneficiaries move from training into business. Sanwo-Olu said more than 3,800 Lagos residents received productive equipment and start-up support under the 2026 edition, including some high-performing graduates. Commissioner Bolaji Cecilia Dada said the ministry extends its skills programmes to grassroots, rural and riverine communities. Motivational speaker Ariori Rachael Eyitayo urged the graduates to move from “Learning to Earning.”

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Learning to Earning.