1.
ADDRESS
BY
HER
EXCELLENCY,
WIFE
OF
THE
GOVERNOR
OF
EKITI
STATE
AND
INITIATOR,
EKITI
DEVELOPMENT
FOUNDATION
AT
THE
FLAG-­‐OFF
OF
THE
LOCAL
GOVERNMENT
TOUR
–
on
January
4,
2011
It
gives
me
great
pleasure
to
address
you
this
morning
on
the
tour
of
the
sixteen
Local
Government
Areas
of
the
state,
which
I’m
embarking
upon
beginning
from
today.
The
eight-­‐day
tour
will
take
me
to
the
nooks
and
crannies
of
the
state
beginning
with
Oye
and
Ikole
LGAs
today
and
will
end
with
Ikere
and
Ado-­‐Ekiti
LGAs
on
January
13.
This
is
going
to
be
my
first
major
trip
across
the
sixteen
LGAs
since
my
husband
assumed
office.
This
key
event
will,
therefore,
afford
me
the
opportunity
to
interact
with
people
at
the
grassroots
across
the
state,
particularly
women,
and
to
say
thank
you
for
their
support
for
the
Governor
Kayode
Fayemi-­‐led
administration
in
the
last
one
year.
My
office
is
collaborating
with
the
Ekiti
Development
Foundation,
Ministry
of
Women’s
Affairs,
Social
Development
and
Gender
Equality
for
this
tour,
while
the
State
AIDS
Control
Agency
and
other
stakeholders
are
equally
part
of
the
train.
The
women
and
various
women’s
groups
will
be
the
main
focus
of
the
tour
because
we
cannot
be
talking
about
developing
our
communities
and
by
extension
the
country
without
the
full
involvement
of
women.
Women
constitute
50
per
cent
of
the
population
and
have
been
found
to
be
better
managers
of
resources.
When
you
educate
and
empower
women
to
assume
leadership
positions
at
all
levels,
the
developmental
challenges
confronting
the
country
can
be
addressed.
The
LG
tour
will
provide
a
platform
for
me
to
introduce
the
Ekiti
Development
Foundation,
which
I
formally
launched
in
June,
2011.
Since
this
administration
1

2.
came
on
board
in
October,
2010,
the
EDF
has
been
providing
assistance
in
cash
and
kind
for
the
needy
prior
to
the
formal
launch
of
the
foundation.
I’m
pleased
to
inform
you
that
the
foundation
has
so
far
disbursed
more
than
N12m
to
associations,
groups
and
individuals
across
Ekiti
State.
The
EDF,
in
conjunction
with
Globacom
Nigeria
Limited,
will
also
empower
more
people,
including
select
multiple
birth
families
across
the
sixteen
LGAs,
during
the
tour.
There
will
also
be
sensitization
and
awareness
road
shows
on
the
implementation
of
the
state’s
Child
Rights
Act,
the
newly
signed
Gender-­‐Based
Violence
(Prohibition)
Bill
and
breast
cancer
awareness,
among
other
health
and
social
issues
that
I
am
concerned
about.
I
urge
everyone
to
come
along
with
us
as
we
move
from
one
local
government
to
the
other
to
interact
with
women
across
the
state.
I
thank
you
for
listening.
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