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Mrs. Abimbola Fashola (2nd L) with Governor Babatunde Fashola SAN (L), Mrs. Mayowa Ikuforiji (2nd R) and Dr. Mrs. Tokunbo Dabiri (R).
Mrs. Abimbola Fashola (M) flanked by Governor Babatunde Fashola SAN (L) and Mrs. Mayowa Ikuforiji (R), during a presentation to Exco.Feb 9, 2009 - Lagos First Lady Champions War Against HIV/AIDS In Lagos State
First Lady of Lagos State and wife of the State Governor, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola, on Monday led a delegation of the State Chapter of the National Women Coalition on Aids (NAWOCA) on a visit to the State Executive Council to solicit support for the launch of the chapter’s planned war against the dreaded HIV/AIDS in the State.
Mrs. Fashola, who was accompanied by officials of the State Chapter of the Coalition, made a presentation of the planned activities of the Chapter in the Executive Chambers of the Council and before all the members of the Council who had to break their Meeting to attend to the delegation.
Fielding questions from newsmen shortly after the presentation, the First Lady said the Coalition has a Committee as well as a Working Committee in each state of the Federation, whose work is to work out the details of the project for each state.
“We have a Committee as well as a Working Committee for each State of the Federation and each committee will differ on what they want to do for the state”, Mrs. Fashola said adding that in Lagos State, the State Committees would engage in creating awareness, advocacy and sensitization as well as encouraging people to know their status.
According to the First Lady, who said the women of the State got together last week to discuss the issue, “This is because we want to go to the grassroots”, adding that they want everybody to be involved.
On the purpose of the visit to the State Executive Council, Mrs. Fashola explained: “Before we go into all that we want to do, we just felt that we needed to bring on board the members of the House of Assembly as well as Executive members of the State Council so that we will get everyone involved in monitoring and everyone will support the project”.
She said the work of the Working Committees, which will work hand in hand with the working partners, the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA); “is to set up what we need to do, and just as I said, to create awareness, advocacy and sensitization and to encourage people to know their status as well as preaching abstinence”.
“If you cannot abstain and be faithful to your spouse, then please use the condom, protect your family. Don’t expose yourself, don’t kill yourself. If you don’t love yourself, we love you. We want you to be free of HIV, we don’t want you to contact it and we don’t want our grandparents to do the work of parents. We want everyone to be alive. We want to protect our own children too”, the First Lady said..
On the planned launch, Mrs. Fashola said the aim was to launch it in five divisional districts of Lagos State: Ibire, Epe, Lagos Island, Badagry and Ikeja and Ikorodu, adding, “But before we do that, we want to get everybody involved, the stakeholders. And when we talk of the stakeholders, we are talking of the Legislative and the Executive. So once we have got them and got their commitment, then we call on the Local Governments. We have already sensitized the wives of Local Government Chairmen to tell them we are coming so that they too will start working so that when we do the launch, every one will be involved”.