Edo State Governor Mr. Godwin Obaseki, yesterday, promised to partner Standard Life Organization to reduce the level of poverty and unemployment in the state.
The governor disclosed this at the official Commissioning of the New Corporate Head Office Standard Life Organization, Ikpoba Hill, Benin City.
The governor, represented by the commissioner for wealth, creation corporative and empowerment Hon. Felix Akhabue said poverty can be removed from our nation through empowerment and creation of wealth which Standard Life Organization represents.
According to him, ” I am really impressed because the governor has really liked Standard Life Organisation with the aim to remove poverty from the lives of Nigerians,
“Standard Life organization, is like a humanitarian organization which every child of God will be happy with”.
” As a Christian I belong to the helping ministry that’s why we are trying to help the less privileged in our society most especially the women
“You know if you train a woman, you train nation so also when you empowered a woman you empowered a nation we have assured them that we are going to partner with them”.
Speaking on the essence of the event, Chairman, Managing Director (CEO/ND), Standard Life Organization Oyegue Osazee, said it was an idea borne out of the strong desire to see that our society, particularly the women, who are also mothers of the nation, have an enhanced standard of living.
He said Standard Life Organization was set up for financial empowerment of the women where they will be given soft loans to help their business no matter how small is the business and women who doesn’t have what it takes to access funds from commercial banks.
Mr Oyegue said the organization is focusing on women because statistics on poverty in Nigeria indicates that 70 percent of underprivileged and poor Nigerians are women.
He said poverty has deepened in Nigeria since 1980s and many Nigerians especially women, are worse off today than they were in the 1960s. The high level of financial exclusion, especially in the rural and semi-urban communities contribute in no small measure to the rise of poverty in Nigeria.
He said Standard Life Organization was established in the year 2010 and has over 57 branches across three geo political zone of the federation South East, South West and South South and its headquarter formally located in Cross River State before relocated to Benin.