The Managing Director, Protogy Global Services Limited, and founder, Ademola Isaac Agoro Engineering Empowerment, Engr. Ademola Agoro, has asked Nigerians to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s education reform across the nation.
Agoro stated that education remains the bedrock of all forms of development in any nation, asking Nigerians to pay more priority to improved standard of education across the country.
Speaking at the foundation laying ceremony for Joshua Agoro College, Erinmo Ijesha, Agoro noted that education is not the sole responsibility of government, but joint collaboration between stakeholders and government.
He said his foundation will build and commission a standard world-class College, at Erinmo Next Year to support effort of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu towards upliftment of education in Nigeria.
According to him, siting of the College at Erinmo Ijesha was to ensure speedy development and growth and assist children in the area to attain their full potential.
He added that the school, which is sitting on a 3.1 acres of land at Erinmo will be properly guided and nurtured to be one of the best in Nigeria with modern day facilities and technological equipments so as to update technogical skills of the students.
The 2027 House of Reps aspirant said that even though the school will be 100 percent free for the students, quality and high standard of the school will never be compromised.
He assured the students not to be perturbed or bothered about their current locality or background, adding that they can always attain their full potential if they are committed and work towards it.
Osun Commissioner for Education, Dipo Eluwole, thanked Agoro for the passion and love for his people.
He assured that Osun state will also partner and support the college in order to meet the expectations of his students and the people of the people.
The Elerinmo of Erinmo eulogised the commitment and dedication of Agoro, describing him as the pride of Erinmo Ijesha and Osun state as a whole.
He said the town will support construction of the college with assurance that the work will continue without obstruction, while effective supervision and monitoring will also be put in place.
A former member of the House of Representatives, High Chief Nathaniel Agunbiade, expressed joy for the gesture of the aspirant, saying it will bring development to the town.
Former Vice President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and Managing Director of Protogy Global, Engr. Ademola Agoro, has called on Nigerians to rally behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in efforts to rescue the nation from extreme poverty.
Agoro emphasised the need for citizens to collaborate with the government to overcome the country’s current economic and social challenges.
He made the appeal during the launch of the Isaac Ademola Agoro Engineering Empowerment Foundation, held at the foundation’s office along Ilesha Road in Osun State.
According to him, the initiative is aimed at empowering individuals through vocational training that can lead to financial independence.
“The idea is to help people acquire practical skills they can use to earn a living,” Agoro explained, adding that the foundation’s facility would serve as a vocational study centre.
On the cost of the project, Agoro said it was difficult to estimate the exact amount spent.
He noted that the initiative is being funded through the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts of Protogy Global.
“Out of what God has blessed us with, we are giving back to support and uplift others,” he said.
“It is difficult. That’s just the truth. It is difficult. The truth is that it is very difficult, when I say it is very difficult, it is very difficult, in fact I don’t keep track, I don’t keep track of the amount of money and everything I spend.”
He urged Nigerian youth that there is no shortcut in life, adding that whatever that is a shortcut would lead to destruction.
“So it’s just principle. There’s always a time for seed. There’s a time for plant and harvest, so anything that you jump to, you should be very careful.
“So I would advise them to look at what they can use their hand to do and see how they can do it well and consistently, God will bless them and they will get to wherever they want to get to.”
In his remark, a former member of the House of Reps, Hon. Nathaniel Agunbiade said government alone cannot cater for the citizens, hence the need for individuals and organisations to support government efforts.
He said Engr. Ademola Agoro, through his foundation, has been very supportive in assisting people of the local government, and Obokun Local Government, as well as those around the area in bringing skill acquisition to the entire populace.
“Earlier on, we have been at Ijebu-jesa to commission his foundation house, which meant essentially for training of artisans and what have you. People will come to that place, not only to train, they will train free of charge, they will be accommodated without paying a penny and this is born out of the fact that, we realized that government cannot do this thing alone.
“The first one he did in this town was the establishment of a primary school, where your kids come into that school without paying a penny, free books, free uniform, and free feeding.
“They also have what I will call a college of technical vocation, that one is also in this town. So what we did was just to make his presence felt at the local government headquarters of the local government at Ijebu-jesa.
“In essence, that is what we are doing today and by way of felicitating with our people at this period, which is the Easter period, he has brought some food items to be distributed to our people and by and large that is what we are doing and we are all proud of him.’
Meanwhile, the Elerinmo of Erinmo Ijesha, Oba Dr. Michael Odunayo Ajayi, stated that it is important for beneficiaries to make good use of all the facilities as well as opportunities granted them.
‘Essentially, there has been a lot of money spent on empowerment all over Nigeria, but we have found situations whereby people are empowered, given machineries to use, to improve their business, but rather than do that, they have turned this around and sold them, thinking that money, having cash was more important.
“It is important that people know that being taught how to fish is better than just being given fish. Our people should stop waiting for handouts all the time. They should rather look for opportunities to be trained in their area of interest and their area of vocation for them to do.’
‘When somebody wants to say he’s doing investment, you put a hundred thousand naira down somewhere and then you expect to get two hundred and fifty thousand in two weeks, that is criminal, that is not investment, that is like playing lottery and that’s why you’ll find out that there are many instances people get involved in ponzi schemes, like has happened recently and you know they lost their investment.
“I will advise, when people have money like this, why don’t you acquire some little machinery and start some little work, and God can then bless the handwork. So this is my advice to everybody.”
The monarch said God blesses people so as to impact on others just as Engr. Ademola Agoro has done.
“So I would like to thank Engineer Isaac Agoro of Erinmoland, for his efforts to boost the livelihood of the people, for his support for youths, to improve their welfare and for the opportunity for training, being an engineer believing that people must know something, if you are not trained, there is no way you can do much in the future.’
“We thank Agoro and I support this initiative and I also encourage other people like him all over the world, all over Nigeria, to please look back and at least pull up somebody, have people you can give scholarships to, have people you can train in all these ramifications.’
At the event, some widows and people living with disability were giving cash prizes, while empowerment tools, which include vulcanizing machines, generating sets, sewing machines, grinding machines as well as welding machines were also distributed.
He said: “The youth should emulate what the fellows of the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy have done, which is to take up projects, fund it and open it.
“We are looking for youths to become part of the government, join the government because if you don’t join the government, you won’t have a say in formulating policies.
“Together you are the future, we need people to hand over to, we need them at local, state and federal levels, we need them in the system, so that things like this can be promoted further.”
As part of the current administration’s commitment to ensure there is an improved standard of living for public servants, especially retirees of Lagos State public service, the state government has organised one day training in bio-gas generation for retirees.
The programme, organised by Post Service department in the Office of the Head of Service, is part of the social and economic relief initiatives intended to equip retirees of the public service with the requisite competencies and entrepreneurial skills needed to run profitable business ventures in retirement.
The Head of Service, Mr. Bode Agoro, urged the participants to maximise the benefits of the training in bio-gas generation, at Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Secretariat, Alausa-Ikeja.
Agoro, represented by the Secretary, Staff Housing and Loans Board, Mr. Abdulrafiu Fashola, said there was no doubt that technology advancement “has opened our eyes to benefits in the usage of gas and this serves as another opportunity for the participants to learn how to make use of wastes to generate gas for home usage.”
He added that the retired public servants, as senior citizens, had worked to sustain Lagos State as a Centre of Excellence and therefore deserved the best after retirement.
He said the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration placed importance on the continuous well-being/welfare of public servants even in retirement, hence the continuous training and retraining of retirees to ensure proper empowerment.
A beneficiary of the programme, Mr. Abiodun Akinbusuyi, said: “The training has exposed us to a new line of business they never thought of. I can tell you this is impactful, encouraging and rewarding. This is very good for all retirees.”
The Lagos State Head of Service, Bode Agoro yesterday kicked off the 2023 edition of the HOS Games Competition.
The kick off was held at the Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM), Sport Area saw the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) defeating Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service by 5-0 in the football event.
Agoro said the aim of the competition was to give public servants a sense of belonging and to keep them fit physically to be able to carry out their work effectively.
The HOS noted that those who were taking part in the competition had been certified fit medically and that staff from all Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, who registered were taking part in the competition.
Agoro also said the competition would help to promote comradeship among the various government bodies and foster good relationships as well as bring about healthy competition.
He maintained that talents would also be selected to represent Lagos at the state level, saying that overtime; the competition had been very competitive.
Also, the Permanent Secretary, Public Service Office, Sunkanmi Oyegbola, said the state government is happy that agencies are participating in the competition, stressing that it is about sportsmanship, physical exercise and wellbeing of the staff.
In the same vein, the Vice Chairman, Local Organising Committee (LOC), Richard Ogbe, said measures had been put in place to ensure that only qualified staff compete, stressing that medical teams and security officers are available to ensure safety of the players.
On his part, The Head of Competition’s Technical Committee, Ola Okunnu, said the competition was to engender and foster the spirit of sportsmanship in the public service.
Olabode Shuaeeb Agoro on Tuesday took office as the 22nd Head of Service (HOS) of the Lagos State Civil Service, succeeding Hakeem Muri-Okunola, who voluntarily retired last September after about five years.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu superintended the event where the 56-year-old Agoro took the oath before members of the State Executive Council, lawmakers, Body of Permanent Secretaries and political leaders.
Following his oath administration, Agoro performed his first official assignment, getting the Governor’s approval for the long-sought request of a 500 per cent increase in car refurbishment loan scheme for workers.
Sanwo-Olu described the civil service as ‘a resource centre’ of the government, likening public service to a wheel that keeps governance and the government running.
He congratulated Agoro, noting that the constitution entrusted the office of the Head of Service with ‘enormous’ responsibilities to provide direction and leadership for the public workforce.
Sanwo-Olu urged Agoro to dedicate himself to governance and work to build on the achievements of his predecessors.
He said: “Office of the Head of Service, in a cosmopolitan state like Lagos, carries a lot of responsibility. This is so because government relies significantly on the public service for the implementation of policies and programmes.
“Lagos public service has a great reputation of competence among its peers, but there is still so much to be done in order to continuously raise the bar of professionalism, and to ensure prompt, effective and efficient service delivery that meet global standards.
“Given the high expectations of our citizens, this is the task that our new Head of Service must completely dedicate himself to as he takes on the huge responsibility of providing direction and leadership to the most vibrant and progressive public service in the country. I have no doubt about his capability to lead the civil service, and to build on the legacy and achievements of his predecessors.””
Before his appointment as HOS, Agoro was the longest serving Permanent Secretary, supervising the Lagos State Government Lands Bureau.
He also served as Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Land Matters to former Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Giving his vote of assurance, Agoro said he inherited ‘a fantastic, vibrant public service’ from his predecessor, and pledged to build on the legacy bequeathed to him.
He hailed Sanwo-Olu for prioritising workers’ welfare, noting that the approved car refurbishment loan scheme would go a long way in motivating workers and raise their dedication.
“My assumption of office as the 22nd Head of Service will bring about new opportunities for civil servants. Their welfare and working environment will be paramount,” he promised.
