The Chairman of Ikeja Local Government Area, Ikeja, Lagos Mainland, Mr Mojeed Balogun, has empowered about 300 residents in the community.
Some of the beneficiaries could not resist their emotions as they shed tears while receiving the items.
The items and tools distributed, Balogun said, were to encourage small and medium enterprises and reduce poverty in the area.
Eyes Of Lagos gathered that, According to him; “Poverty is generally seen as incapacity to have access to the basic things of life such as food, shelter, clothing, potable water, good education and affordable health care.
“As a progressive party, whose cardinal objectives include poverty alleviation, we have been regularly giving social welfare packages to our indigent people, including a regular monthly financial assistance to community members.
“Somebody said, ‘I have a challenge, I am a Vulcaniser and I need money from you’. But giving him money will not solve his problem, so, we decided to get him the tools, let him start that business to solve his family problem. We are ever committed than before to deliver the dividend of democracy to our people.”
Balogun said leaders of the Community Development Committee had been saddled with the task of monitoring the beneficiaries to ensure they did not misuse the items.
“My advice to the beneficiaries is to make judicious use of what they have been given because not everyone that requested assistance was lucky to get something. Let them make use of what they have got today. In total, we have over 300 beneficiaries and everybody is being handed over to the CDC because the list was submitted through that medium. So the CDC will complement that for us by ensuring that it is put to better use,” he said.
The Regent to the stool of Olu of Ikeja, Prince Isiaka Adekunle, described the empowerment project as laudable. “I give kudos to the council Chairman for this programme. This programme will not only reduce poverty, it will also create employment opportunities for the people of Ikeja. My advice to the beneficiaries is to make judicious use of the equipment and the goods presented to them. They should not to sell them,” he said.
