National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has empowered 1,000 residents of Lagos State with clean energy solutions, livelihood support and practical skills under its Sustainable Empowerment Programme (NSEP).
The intervention was carried out on Friday at the LTV Blue Roof, Ikeja, where beneficiaries received 400 NASENI Power Stoves, 100 NASENI Home Solar Solutions and NASENI Support Packs.
Some beneficiaries also received practical training in Plaster of Paris (POP) installation and electrical maintenance.
The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NASENI, Mr Khalil Suleiman Halilu, said the intervention was part of the agency’s efforts to deploy science, technology and engineering solutions to communities.
Halilu said the Lagos programme came a day after a similar intervention was carried out in Ohafia, Abia State.
“Science, technology and engineering must ultimately improve lives. Innovation only becomes meaningful when it solves real problems for real people,” he said.
He said the NASENI Power Stoves were designed to provide cleaner and more efficient cooking alternatives and reduce households’ reliance on traditional cooking methods.
The EVC added that the NASENI Home Solar Solutions were intended to provide households and small businesses with renewable energy options to support economic activities.
According to him, the Lagos intervention was not limited to the distribution of products, as beneficiaries were also trained in POP installation and electrical maintenance.
“These are practical skills with immediate economic value. The objective is not simply to train people, but to give them skills they can convert into services, businesses and sustainable sources of income.
“We want beneficiaries to move from learning to earning, and from receiving support to becoming productive economic participants,” Halilu said.
He urged the beneficiaries to make productive use of the equipment and skills provided, saying the impact of the programme would be measured by the outcomes recorded after the intervention.
“Our real measure of success is what happens after today. Are households benefiting? Are people reducing their energy challenges? Are those trained earning from their new skills? Are small businesses being created or expanded? Those are the outcomes that matter to us,” he said.
Representing the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, was Hon. Fuad Kayode Laguda, member representing Surulere I Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
Laguda commended NASENI for extending the programme to Lagos, describing the combination of skills development and empowerment products as an important intervention.
He called for the expansion of the programme to cover more communities and beneficiaries across the state.
Also speaking, Hon. Akeem Dauda, Chairman of Ikeja Local Government, who represented the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Chief Idris Ibikunle Olorunnimbe, commended NASENI for the initiative.
Dauda said the programme’s focus on clean energy, skills development and sustainable livelihoods would provide beneficiaries with opportunities to improve their economic wellbeing.
He urged the beneficiaries to make productive use of the support provided.
Similarly, Hon. Princess Samiat Abolanle Bada, Executive Chairman of Ikosi-Isheri Local Council Development Area, who represented the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, Hon. James Abiodun Faleke, commended NASENI for the intervention.
Bada described the programme as a practical demonstration of government efforts to provide citizens with skills, technology and livelihood opportunities.
NASENI said the NSEP was designed to provide practical technologies, relevant skills and livelihood support while promoting the application of science, technology and engineering to job creation, enterprise development, cleaner energy and improved productivity.
