Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, on Wednesday, called on women to continue to champion great initiatives by being innovators in their various careers to engender development nationwide.

He gave the charge at the closing ceremony of the two-day 24th edition of the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO) National Women’s Conference (NWC).

“It’s important to continue to train and retrain our women, to continue to provide an opportunity, a platform for you, for your voices to be heard, for you to sit together, for you to juggle together, to share ideas and to share thoughts.

“Also, to share business initiatives. To take out time from your very busy schedule, we know you can multitask, but to come here and sit together for two days and just unwind.

“First, you can see that, indeed, you are the real reason why governance is interesting. You are the real reason why we wake up every day and we go with every fibre of strength,” Mr Sanwo-Olu said.

The governor stressed that for national development to become a reality, it was crucial to train women.

“We know that, indeed, when you help and train a woman, you are not only training your family, you are not only training a community, you are training nations.

“We learn and unlearn and relearn new things. I want to thank all of you again for doing this and for doing your part,” he said.

Mr Sanwo-Olu commended Gov. Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom and the first lady of Borno, Falmata Zulum, for their support, regretting that Mrs Zulum had to leave early due to the flooding experienced in her state.

“On your behalf, I want to thank His Excellency, Gov. Umo Eno, the Governor of Akwa Ibom, for sending his deputy, who gave us a wonderful speech.

“The people of Borno, we sympathise with you; I pray God gives relief for this unfortunate incident,” he said.

Also, the COWLSO chairman, Dr Claudia Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, wife of the Lagos state governor, called on women to embrace modesty and become exemplary managers of resources.

Mrs Sanwo-Olu cautioned women against the lifestyle of affluence, frivolities and wastefulness.

She urged women to transform their homes, communities and the nation.

“Every naira must be spent with purpose and accountability.

“As women, we hold the power to shape the financial health of our households, and it is our responsibility to manage our resources effectively,” she said.

The COWLSO chairman urged households to embrace home gardening and make it a culture in their homes so they could reduce dependence on purchased food items like vegetables.

She said women needed to re-strategise to achieve rewarding outcomes, adding that COWLSO had exemplified that aspect by shifting its focus to new areas of impact.

She said that the NWC had been reduced to two days instead of the usual three days from previous events.

“In the same vein, the closing ceremony for this year’s NWC is taking place now before the usual gala night, as opposed to the traditional practice of holding the closing ceremony after the gala.

“This change reflects our commitment to innovation and flexibility, ensuring that we continually improve the structure and impact of our programmes to benefit all stakeholders,” she said.

(NAN)