Oshimili South LG Chairman Empowers 10 Petty Traders, Vow To Do More

It was jubilation as 10 petty traders were given N10, 000 each in ward 9 as not refundable empowerment package to boost their various minor businesses in Asaba, the administrative headquarters of Oshimili south local government council of Delta State.

The Executive Chairman of the council, Comrade Uche Osadebe, who was accompanied by some party leaders and staff of the council on the empowerment, disclosed that he personally led the empowerment following series of complaints from the masses that they were being short-changed whenever there was directive for them to be empowered.

“We discovered that a lot of the persons who have been working with us have nothing to themselves. Some of them have little trades that they are doing but they don’t have a way to expand it”.

Comrade Osadebe, said it was better to start giving them something to begin with instead of leaving them in their state, “I felt the only way for us to do it is to start a gradual process of empowering them by making sure that we reach out to them”, pointing out that instead of gathering people in one place, he said seeing the kind of trade they are into was good, “before giving them the money”.

He disclosed that a monitoring team is on ground to keep them at close watch to see those who were able to judiciously use the empowerment to expand their various trades, “if you are expanding your business, of course, we will think of how we will expand it again for you by empowering you the more”, he promised.

Among the 10 petty traders empowered include Mrs. Victoria Ashikodi, Mrs. Ifeyowa Ogbu, Princa Mbagwu, Izah Ishioma, Mrs. Nwachukwu Caro, Helen Nwafor, who trade in garri, plantain, clothing, fried yam, tomatoes and roasted plantain and beans among other small items.

Osadebe, also vowed to keep the empowerment flying as 10 persons have been penciled down for the empowerment in each ward, “next week we will continue with ward 8 and ward 7 and those we were unable to give to now, we will continue from there”.

Meanwhile, a woman (name withheld), who was with her temporary voters card from the recent concluded Continuous Voter Register (CVR), was denied the N10, 000 empowerment by the council boss.

He argued that only those with Permanent Voters cards would benefit from the empowerment as it is not all comers affair, “I mean those who have Permanent Voter cards and it is Nigerians that is supposed to have it. Somebody who just registered, it therefore means that the person has not been a voter”.

He stressed that the empowerment is ment for voters, revealing that the woman isn’t a voter to the best of his knowledge, “I am giving it to voters. She is not a voter as far as I am concerned, so that it will encourage her and call people to vote, that is the essence of doing it. I am giving it to voters”, he reiterated.