Twenty-Five Women Certified As Mechanics

Twenty-five women were certified as mechanics under the Lady Sandra Mechanic Initiative in Benin City, Edo State. 

To guests and stakeholders in the transportation industry, the occasion signified a new dawn because it ran contrary to the norm. And for Coca-Cola Nigeria, the company that threw its weight behind the initiative, it was a great Corporate Social Responsibility breakthrough.

According to the soft drink producing company, the decision to support the initiative was borne out of the need to promote economic independence among women and reduce unemployment in Nigeria. Earlier, at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Lady Mechanic Village, the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, with the support of the Ministry of Women Affairs, had promised to ensure meaningful contribution of women to national development as employers of labour.

Represented by a Director from the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Mrs. Iromiran Ajufo,  Jonathan said the initiative, which operates in Lagos, Edo, Kaduna, Abuja and Kano, was aimed at training young women as auto mechanics, drivers, generator technicians, water pump and speed boat mechanics. “It offers a transformative approach that is gender responsive, by challenging gender stereotypes. It is against this background that we applaud the Lady Mechanic Initiative, initiated by Sandra Aguebor-Ekperuoh, for the benefit of providing a means of livelihood to women in particular,” she said.