The Naval Officers’ Wives Association (NOWA) has trained wives of naval personnel in Kogi State in the production of household cleaning products to promote self-reliance, reduce domestic expenses and encourage income generation.
The Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Lugard, Adeshola Ojo, made this known on Friday in Lokoja at a two-day skill acquisition training programme organised by NOWA.
The association is led by the wife of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Aisha Abbas.
Mr Ojo said the initiative was designed to equip participants with practical skills to improve their livelihoods and family upkeep.
He urged the trainees to take the training seriously, noting that the knowledge acquired could be applied at home, developed into businesses or transferred to others.
Similarly, the Zonal Director of NOWA, Kogi chapter, and wife of NNS Lugard, Oluranti Ojo, encouraged the participants to embrace the opportunity.
She described skills acquisition as a pathway to reducing household expenses and promoting economic empowerment.
She said that empowering women, most especially widows of deceased personnel, would benefit their families, communities and society at large.
Participants at the training, Juliet Asogwa, on behalf of NOWA, and Gloria Daniel, who represented participants from the NAVAL Ratings’ Wives Association (NRWA), commended the organisers for the training.
They said the training equipped them with skills for the production of petroleum jelly, liquid soap, detergent, disinfectant and barbecue fish making.
They said they would use the skills for their personal needs and commercial production to generate additional income.
Also, Able Seaman and Chimenem Owuru, said the training covered the making of detergents, disinfectants and other household cleaning products.
Ms Owuru promised to share the knowledge with colleagues and members of her household to enable them to benefit from the training.
“Producing the items at home will reduce the cost of purchasing cleaning products,” she said.