The Executive Chairman, Agege Local Government Area of Lagos State, Alhaji Ganiyu Kola Egunjobi, has received plaudits from the Director General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Julie Okah-Donli, for the social intervention programmes of his administration.
Julie Okah-Donli led a team of NAPTIP officials on a sensitization and enlightenment campaign to the Council secretariat on Friday, 21st June, where she met with the management including Egunjobi and the Council manager, Olufemi Esan.
Speaking during the visit, Okah-Donli lamented the prevalence of trafficking in Agege saying evidence available rated the area as the greatest concentration of traffickers and victims.
She sought the collaboration of the Council with the agency, urging the management to form an anti-trafficking taskforce, comprising of the stakeholders including Community Development Associations, CDAs, traditional rulers, religious and market leaders, and youth groups to tackle the menace.
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The Director general said human trafficking is hydra headed.
“There are various aspects of it. Some people are into it without knowing. If you have a house-help you must send him or her to the same school your children are attending and eat the same food, if not, you are a culprit.”
In remark, Egunjobi stated that the council had been doing its bit to discourage residents from taking up trafficking as a means to earn a living.
He said, “It is incontrovertible that economic reason is one of the factors encouraging trafficking and most victims of financial crisis are youths and women.
“Agege has the best vocational centre in Lagos and has trained over a thousand youths in various vocational skills. Periodically, twenty women are empowered with the sum of One hundred thousand (N100,000) naira each to support their businesses.”
Okah-Donli hailed the Council’s social intervention saying, “This is the first time I heard that a local government is doing such a great work. In fact, the executive chairman deserves an award.”
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In attendance at the occasion were: NAPTIP Zonal Coordinator, Daniel Atokolo; representative of the Country Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC), Chervine Oflodeh; the Secretary to the Local Government, Hon. Gbenga Abiola Michael; the leader of the Council’s legislative arm, Hon. Anigbajumo Kola and Deputy Leader, Hon. Joel Olabode Adigun.
