Bolanle Ambode, wife of the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Sunday handed over chairmanship of the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO) to Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, wife of Governor-elect Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
At a brief handing-over ceremony in Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, Mrs Ambode lauded the vision of COWLSO’s founding mothers, which is to complement the efforts of government in critical areas that are women and children-friendly.
She reflected that the committee under successive chairmen had continued to walk in that great vision, leading to remarkable improvement in the lives of women, girls and children, in vital areas of health, empowerment, education and others.
Speaking further, she recalled some of the achievements recorded under her chairmanship in the last four years.
“My lovely women, with all sense of modesty, we happily recall some of our collective achievements in the health sector of the state, by way of interventions in maternal and child health, year after year.
“The various phases of intervention led to the sponsorship of goitre surgery for 30 women, free hearing aids for 15 children, three women and two men; as well as the upgrading of the ENT Department of the General Hospital, Odan, Lagos. We also purchased and installed state-of-the-art audiology equipment, including Otoread OAE capable of detecting hearing defects in newborns, she said.
Ambode thanked members of the committee for their support for her husband’s administration over the past four years, while also appreciating her predecessors for their kind advice and words of wisdom.
Responding, Mrs Sanwo-Olu commended her predecessor for taking COWLSO to its current enviable height, promising that she would not deviate from the founding ideals of the committee.
She said, “I thank my big sister, Her Excellency, Mrs Bolanle Ambode, for the great steps she has taken to move the committee to its current level. I thank her for the words of encouragement, that I should not be scared about the challenges of that Office. I will do my best, God helping me, to move COWLSO to the next level.”
Mrs Sanwo-Olu, who also praised Governor Ambode for his generous attention to the committee, noted that governance was a continuum, adding that the incoming administration would work hard enough, to move the state to the next level.
