Bolster small scale businesses, reduce prevailing poverty, Akande tasks government

A Lagos State House of Assembly lawmaker representing Ojo Constituency 1, Hon. Victor Olusegun Akande has urged the Nigerian government to improve more on giving support to small scale businesses, describing it as a easier way to stem the burgeoning economic hardship.

The ranking member of the Lagos State House of Assembly made this assertion while empowering over three hundred constituents with working tools and cash gifts on Tuesday December 27, 2022.

Akande while stating what motivated him to give back to the people much more during the yuletide, stressed that empowerment is the best way to forestall the ravaging poverty in the land.

The lawmaker who doubles as the Chairman House Committee on Judiciary, Public Petition, Human Rights and LASIEC tasks government on the need to avail the indigents soft loans to help ameliorate the biting poverty ravaging the land.

Akande while speaking at the Ojo Town Hall venue of the epoch making empowerment programme notes that the gesture remains his style of keeping his bond with his constituent who gave the mandate to serve for eight years at the Assembly

“We ought to have done this quite long ago, but we have been postponing due to tight schedules ,here today we empowered about 300 people with working tools, we also gave out monies to some others to rejuvenate their small scale businesses.

“The twelve items included Popcorn Machine, grinding machines, sewing machines, generator and clippers ,hair dryers, shoe filling machine, nylon sealing machines with N30,000 cash gift, pumping machines, welding machines as well as cash gifts of N200,000, N100,000 and N50,000

This is who I am, I am people-oriented, the people put me there to represent them and I have to thank them.

“I want to empower the youths so that they can empower the old ones. The government should empower the people and give them soft loans so that there would be an end to poverty in the country.

“We have trained some of the beneficiaries on how to use the items so that they would not sell them,” he said.

“It’s not about giving them money alone, but giving them something that is useful to them so that they can be self reliant.

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“I threw the nomination of beneficiaries open to the party members and to the residents. Leaders of our party nominated people, but it is not about party alone, I selected people within the community, church, mosques and others.

He however, thanked his wife for being there for him, adding that the event was an opportunity for him to reach out to so many people at the same time.

Some of the beneficiaries of the empowerment expressed appreciation to the lawmaker with a promise to make use of the items, which they said would ameliorate their suffering amidst the economic hardship in the nation.

A beneficiary, Miss Arolowo Ebunoluwa expressed happiness over the grinding machine the lawmaker gave her.

The university graduate promised to hand it over to someone that would operate it on her behalf and give her returns.

Another beneficiary, Olawale Alake, a former ward vice chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the area, thanked the lawmaker for the gift of hair dryer he was given.

“I am giving it to my wife. Hon. Akande has been doing this since the past eight years that he got to the assembly. I want to advise the people to make good use of the items given to them,” he said.

Also speaking, Mrs. Helen Agebes, said that she would start a small business with the gift of pop corn machine she got from the empowerment, while expressing gratitude to the lawmaker.

Mr. Mumuni Abudu, on his part, said that the shoe fillinvg machine he was given would contribute to the empowerment of his family as it would help his business.

He then prayed that God would continue to bless the lawmaker, and advised the beneficiaries to use the items for the purposes they were meant for.

According to an LGA Chairman in Ojo locality, on. Victor Akande had been a welfarist ever since his time in PDP and even while he joined APC.

“He has been good to the people and even thought about giving back to the people, although he did not make the primaries, he did not back down in good deed.

“He will continue to excel. I must say that It is because we are party members that made us a beneficiary here today. If not this won’t happen.

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“Let’s all get our PVC, we have a lot of benefits that will further reduce poverty in our constituency .