December 22, 2023
The Special Adviser on Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) to Oriade Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in Lagos State, Hon. (Mrs) Sarah Ikubese has called on Nigerians to extend love and kindness to the less privileged in their communities as a way of giving them a sense of belonging and assurance that they are not alone especially in this festive season.
The ace politician made the remarks on Thursday, December 21, 2023 when she gave out Christmas welfare packages like cash support, bags of rice and other valuable items to widows and other vulnerable groups in the communities, in a bid to ameliorate their sufferings in the spirit of Christmas.
The beneficiaries who are over 200 individuals were drawn from churches, mosques, Navy Town, Satellite Town Forum (STF), artisans, physically challenged persons and all the seven Wards of the LCDA.
The SA also thanked those who made the event to be successful particularly Joyce international ventures limited, Winning Keys Consultant Nigeria Limited, Wilmots and Company Nigeria Limited, etc.
Hon. Ikubese (Mrs) also expressed her profound appreciation to Hon. Ramotalai Akinlola – Hassan, Chairman, Oriade LCDA Lagos for the opportunity given to her to organize such an eventful programme and for being physically present on Thursday to grace the occasion at the council secretariat.
Reacting to the laudable gesture, the husband to Hon. Sarah, Chief Austine Ikubese used the occasion to appeal to Lagos State government to make the Commissioner of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in the state to have a compulsory quarterly or at least bi-annual meetings with all the 57 WAPA’S from the 57 Local Government and LCDA in the state such that they can come up programs that can touch lives of the people directly in order to alleviate poverty, develop human capital and ultimately build capacity.
Chief Ikubese, a community leader and MD/CEO of Joyce International ventures in his long but well applauded speech which was openly read at Pa Yinusa Akinola Memorial Hall, (Council Secretariat) venue of the programme, said:
The Executive Chairman of Oriade LCDA Hon. Chief Ramotalia Akinola Hassan, the counselors, the EXCOs, distinguished members of the press, ladies & gentlemen. It is a thing of joy to the Ikubese’s family for the privilege to put smiles on the faces of vulnerable persons including persons with disability among us in our communities here in Oriade LCDA Satellite Town this Christmas season, being the season to show love just as God himself did by giving us Jesus Christ whom all Christians celebrate his birth at this season. I had a vision that I shared some years back with my wife, Hon. Sarah Ikubese S.A WAPA, that every Christmas Season we should be giving out food items or little money to widows we can identify in our community. At a point we also decided to extend this gesture to my late mother’s compound with 22 tenants, where we lived and started our journey as husband and wife in 1987 by taking 50kg bags of rice and other food items to them and their children
I remember one year we were so rich so to say, we could not afford to buy the bag of rice to take to my late mother’s compound as usual. We were worried and I asked my wife if she has someone that we can buy on credit from, so we can pay back in the New Year. She said yes, at CBN Estate! She called the woman and she accepted to give us the 50kg bag of rice on credit and we took it to the compound at Ajegunle and shared with them. That was a great relief and satisfaction. It may also interest you to know that we gave birth to two among our three children in that compound where we occupied just a room. Our first son, Emmanuel Ikubese Mr. Nigeria 2014 also first runner up Mr. World 2014, and our second son flight Lt I.K Ikubese, a pilot with the Nigeria Air Force were both born in that compound in Ajegunle.
My wife and I joined the ruling party APC about 20 years ago just for the love to serve the people and give back to this state of excellence – Lagos state where we were both born and bred. This lead her to be involved actively in grassroots politics of which she showed interest to contest as the vice chairman of this Oriade LCDA twice; first in 2011/2015 and she enjoyed my full support and blessings. I single handedly organized a political program at my estate for our political party in 2015 after the party won presidential ticket and we needed to make sure that the party did not loss Lagos State which has been an opposition state since 1999.
