The Oyo State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Mrs. Toyin Balogun, has announced that the Ministry has positively impacted over 1.13 million indigent families in its efforts to implement Governor ‘Seyi Makinde’s poverty-to-prosperity agenda.
Speaking at the Omituntun 2.0 Inter-Ministerial Press Briefing held at the Governor’s Office, Agodi Secretariat, Ibadan, Balogun said the Ministry had set a target of reaching two million indigent family units. With more than half of that goal already achieved, she expressed optimism that the target would be met — or even surpassed — before the end of the current administration.
She highlighted the Ministry’s interventions, including conditional cash transfers and financial support to vulnerable groups, noting that 70 percent of the beneficiaries included both men and women.
“We gave ourselves a minimum target of two million indigent family units,” she said. “So far, we’ve positively impacted about 1.13 million through various interventions. We’re well on course.”
Balogun emphasized the Ministry’s holistic approach to social inclusion, including evacuating destitute persons from the streets and rehabilitating them with vocational and technical skills. She added that plans were underway to renovate state-managed rehabilitation centres and orphanages.
Addressing the issue of baby trafficking, the Commissioner warned against the sale of babies through orphanages, vowing that both public and private institutions found culpable would face the full weight of the law.
She also revealed the Ministry’s strategic partnerships with other Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) such as Health, Justice, Education, and SUBEB to address challenges in the state — a move aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 17 on partnerships for progress.
“These collaborations have been key to tackling issues like out-of-school children and gender-based violence,” she said.
According to her, Oyo State once had the highest number of out-of-school children in Southern Nigeria, with about 500,000 children out of school as of 2019. She noted that efforts by the Makinde administration, through joint initiatives with SUBEB and the Ministry of Education, have nearly halved that number.
“We have a system where rescued children from the streets are re-enrolled in schools through a waiver programme facilitated in partnership with education authorities,” she explained.
Balogun added that the Ministry is currently handling over 100 cases of gender-based violence in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and is providing support to child and women victims of abuse and trafficking.
She concluded by reaffirming the Ministry’s commitment to advancing social inclusion and ensuring that no vulnerable group is left behind in the drive toward a prosperous Oyo State.
