{
  "id": 5149785,
  "title": "Lagos empowers 6,190 residents with free vocational, entrepreneurial skills",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/lagos-empowers-6-190-residents-with-free-vocational-entrepreneurial-5149785",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-02T19:14:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch",
    "slug": "punch",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/lagos-empowers-6190-residents-with-free-vocational-entrepreneurial-skills/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Lagos State Government has recently graduated 6,190 residents who participated in the 2025 Skills Acquisition Programme, organized by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation. The graduates, consisting of 4,225 females and 1,963 males, were celebrated at a ceremony held at the De Blue Roof in Lagos Television, Agidingbi, Ikeja. Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu expressed his support for the initiative, emphasizing the administration's commitment to empowering residents with practical skills that can enhance household incomes and contribute to the state's economy. The government provides free vocational and entrepreneurial training at Free Skills Acquisition Centres, enabling residents to create their own opportunities and participate meaningfully in the economy. The Ministry's Micro Enterprise Support Initiative (MESI) offers productive equipment and business start-up support to help graduates transition from training to enterprise. Over 3,800 Lagos residents received such support under MESI's 2026 edition. The Ministry operates 19 Skills Acquisition Centres across Lagos State's five IBILE divisions, in addition to the Women Development Centre in Agege, making a total of 20 training locations. The ministry's initiatives also extend to rural and riverine communities to ensure wider access to economic empowerment opportunities.",
  "summary": "Lagos State empowers 6,190 residents with free vocational and entrepreneurial skills through its acquisition programme, boosting livelihoods and economic p Read More: https://punchng.com/lagos-empowers-6190-residents-with-free-vocational-entrepreneurial-skills/",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Punch Nigeria",
        "title": "Lagos empowers 6,190 residents with free vocational, entrepreneurial skills",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/lagos-empowers-6-190-residents-with-free-vocational-entrepreneurial",
        "published": "2026-09-02T19:12:29.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}