By Princewill Ekwujuru

Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited (CCNL) and Nigeria Bottling Company (NBC) Plc, said they  will be sponsoring 25 lady mechanic trainees in addition to the existing 75 from Edo State.

This would bring  to 100 the number of young ladies that are currently benefiting from the three-year training programme.

This was disclosed at a forum organised by officials of both companies and the Lady Mechanic Initiative (LMI) in Benin City,  to welcome the new trainees and to assess the performance of the first batch of 50 ladies who were enrolled in 2010 who are proceeding shortly on a three-month internship at the Peugeot Automobile Nigeria assembly plant in Kaduna.

Some of the trainees who spoke at the event said the programme has given them hope for the future and an opportunity to escape poverty and pursue their dreams of becoming professionals and business owners.

The ladies further expressed joy at the prospect of becoming auto engineers – a profession traditionally believed to be an exclusive male domain – thereby becoming role models to other girls as well as assets to their future husbands.

The founder of  LMI, Mrs. Sandra Aguebor-Ekperuoh, expressed delight at the tremendous progress the trainees had made in the last one year.

She commended their commitment and thanked both companies for funding the project which has impacted positively on the girls.

Mrs. Irene Ubah, Director of Public Affairs & Communication for CCNL, also praised the passion demonstrated by the girls and urged them to remain focused on their objective.

She noted the importance of women as agents of development and said the Coca-Cola system in Nigeria, represented by the two companies, is committed to empowering women economically by creating opportunities in its value chain such as the Model Distribution Centres (MDCs) in Nigeria, 70 percent of which is owned and operated by women as well as by investing in and supporting other platforms, such as the LMI, that promote women development.