LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT REFUNDS 145 FORMER SUBSCRIBERS OF EGAN HOUSING ESTATE
admin Mrs. Adaeze Nwankwo from the Epe Division of Lagos State has won the ‘Every Home A Garden’ competition in Lagos State. She went away with N2.5 million.
The competition was under the Agriculture and Food Security Programme of the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) of the First Lady, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu.
Mrs. Nwankwo was announced winner of the contest in Lagos by the governor’s wife, Mrs. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu at the Lagos House in Ikeja.
According to Mrs. Sanwo-Olu, Mrs. Nwankwo’s exceptional performance at the national competition earned her N1 million from Mrs. Tinubu, and an additional N500,000 from the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADFUND).
The governor’s wife also gave Mrs. Nwankwo another N1 million, making her total prize money N2.5million.
In addition, Mrs. Sanwo-Olu announced a N500,000 cash prize for each of the four winners from the remaining four divisions of Lagos – Ikorodu, Lagos Island, Badagry and Ikeja. All 152 participants who made it to the grand finale would get N100,000 each.
She added: “I encourage you to sustain the home gardening passion, incorporate it into your daily lives and make it a sustainable way of life.”
On whether the competition will hold next year, Mrs. Sanwo-Olu expressed her commitment to sustaining the initiative, but said she would wait for a signal from Mrs. Tinubu whether to continue or not.
Wife of the Deputy Governor Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat described the competition as a ‘testament that we can achieve a greater Lagos’.
“I encourage women to continuously practice smart farming in their homes to strengthen agriculture in the country. This programme should inspire us to create a better future for ourselves. We can feed ourselves as a nation,” she said.
The Chairman, Office of the First Lady Farmer’s committee, Ayo Afuwape, said the committee visited gardens presented by 90 per cent of the participants, with the various criteria used to determine the best, which includes variety of crops planted, space management, pest control strategies, community impact of the garden, use of social media to promote the initiative, among others.
He added that 1,052 applications were received which was later reduced to 757 before the final 250 were chosen to participate.
Some of the participants also hailed the initiative.
Morenike Iyabo from Ikeja division testified that since she started planting in her home, she now eats healthy as she eats what she plants
“I plant tomatoes, ewedu and vegetables. What I eat from my harvest is more nutritious than the ones I buy from the market. This programme is an eye opener and we want it to continue,” she said.
