The wife of the Lagos State Governor and State Coordinator of the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), Dr. Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, on Monday, rewarded participants of the “Every Home A Garden” competition in the State.
The initiative, under the Renewed Hope Initiative of the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, CON, saw 157 participants from various parts of Lagos State receive cash prizes. Dr. Sanwo-Olu’s gesture followed Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s announcement of the national winner of the competition on December 4, 2024.
The Governor’s wife presented a cash prize of ₦1 million to the overall winner from the Epe Division, Mrs. Adaeze Gloria Nwankwo, and an additional ₦500,000 each to four other divisional winners from Badagry, Epe, Ikorodu, and Lagos Divisions.
The overall winner, Mrs. Nwankwo, had earlier received ₦1 million from the First Lady of Nigeria’s RHI and ₦500,000 from the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADFUND), bringing her total prize money to ₦2.5 million.
The other four winners are Olufunmilayo Omolayo Adedokun from Ikorodu Division, Semedeton Favour Posu from Badagry Division, Queen Ijeoma Onyekwere from Ikeja Division and Oluwaseun Okoya from Lagos Division.
Speaking to the 157 participants during the announcement at her office in Lagos House, Ikeja, Dr. Sanwo-Olu revealed that the remaining 152 participants would each receive ₦100,000 in recognition of their dedication and commitment to the competition.
She encouraged all participants to sustain the vision of the initiative by practising home gardening, ensuring food security, and reducing dependence on buying vegetables from the market. “I want to encourage you to sustain the home gardening passion, incorporate it into your daily lives, and make it a sustainable way of life”. Dr. Sanwo-Olu urged.
The First Lady also reaffirmed her commitment to supporting the initiative and following the vision set by Senator Tinubu.
The wife of the Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat, described the competition as a testament to achieving a greater Lagos.
The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr. Jamiu Tolani Alli-Balogun, commended Senator Tinubu for the initiative and Dr. Sanwo-Olu for ensuring its success in Lagos.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, emphasised the growing interest in home agriculture, saying, “The programme has generated a lot of interest. We should revive farming; we need to feed ourselves. I thank the First Lady for taking up this challenge.”
The Chairman of the Office of the First Lady Farmer’s Committee, Mr. Ayo Afuwape, stated that the committee visited 90% of the participants’ gardens, using various criteria such as crop variety, space management, pest control, community impact, and social media promotion to determine the winners.
He described the experience as remarkable, revealing that despite some challenges, all the participants performed exceptionally well.
The participants expressed their gratitude for the programme. Morenike Iyabo from the Ikeja Division said: “When I heard about this initiative on the radio, I knew I had to be a part of it”.
Smith Oluwatoyin from Ikorodu Division also added: “This initiative has been an eye-opener for me. I’m now more conscious of what I eat and can differentiate between organic and non-organic food”.
