N25bn Lagos employment trust fund set to roll as Ambode inaugurates board

With the inauguration of the board of the N25 billion Lagos Employment Trust Fund (ETF) on Thursday, the state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode says the state is set to widen opportunities for self-employment for persons with business ideas and entrepreneurial skills.

The ETF is designed to advance loans to propel self-employment. The state is setting aside N6.25 billion annually for the next four years, amounting to N25 billion to fund the ETF, which is to be managed by the board just inaugurated.

The initiative is a paradigm shift in positively and productively engaging the teeming youths of the state, Ambode said, describing the ETF as an instrument designed to galvanise the creative and innovative energies of all Lagosians, as the Fund would only be available to Lagosians and residents of the state.

Inaugurating the members of the ETF board, Ambode said they were carefully selected based on their track records of professional integrity and selflessness, and therefore charged them to make transparency and accountability their watchwords.

“I urge all Lagosians, especially our young entrepreneurs and artisans to embrace this opportunity. The process of accessing the fund must be transparent, and beneficiaries will be chosen only on the strength and quality of their applications. The management of this fund will be guided by global best practices and strict adherence to the rules and procedures spelt out in the law.

“Fellow Lagosians, this initiative has been designed to succeed. Our government will commit N6.25 billion every year within the Four years of this administration to a total of N25 billion.

“Realising that the first year of this administration is just 3 months away, precisely on May 29, 2016, the Commissioner for Finance is hereby directed to transfer the sum of N6.25 billion to the ETF immediately, today,” the governor said.

Ambode added that the effectiveness of the initiative would not be measured by the number of beneficiaries but by the number of successful businesses created, the number of employment opportunities offered and the overall multiplier effects on the State economy within a reasonable period of time.

“Every senatorial zone of the State must feel the positive impact of the Fund. The Board must ensure that the distribution of the fund is evenly spread across the State,” he said.

He also urged individuals, corporate organisations and multi-lateral agencies to join his administration in turning around the fortunes of the youths and thereby energise the State, saying such would boost the economy of the nation as a whole.

He, however, expressed confidence in the ability of the members of the Commission to perform.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the ETF is Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, while the members are Dele Martins; Bilikis Adebiyi-Abiola; Otto Orondam; Olufunmi Olatunde Daudu; Tunde Bank-Anthony; Michael Popoola Ajayi; Tunde Durosinmi-Etti, and Mustapha Akinkunmi. Akintunde Oyebode is to serve as the executive secretary of the fund.

Responding, Omoigui-Okauru thanked Ambode for the opportunity to serve the people, and assured that she would work hard with members of the board, not only to fulfil the governor’s campaign promises, but would bring hope to the teeming youths of the state.

Omoigui-Okauru, who is the former chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), also assured that the board would ensure full compliance with the provisions of the law setting up the ETF.