No fewer than 180,000 residents across Osun State are benefiting from an ongoing empowerment programme being implemented by the 30 local government councils under the control of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
The initiative, which is being carried out in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, is aimed at supporting people at the grassroots with direct cash assistance to improve their means of livelihood and strengthen small-scale economic activities across communities.
Under the programme, each beneficiary is receiving N50,000, bringing the total value of the empowerment scheme to N9 billion.
The disbursement is expected to run across four quarters within the year. Two quarters have already been completed, with 90,000 beneficiaries said to have received a total of N4.5 billion across the 332 wards in Osun State.
The programme has continued to attract reactions from residents and political stakeholders within the state, especially as many of the beneficiaries are artisans, traders, farmers and other low-income earners at the grassroots.
Speaking on the development, the State Coordinator of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, Oluomo Sunday Akere, commended the APC local government chairmen for aligning with President Tinubu’s vision of people-focused governance.
Akere said the initiative reflects purposeful leadership and demonstrates commitment towards improving the welfare of ordinary Nigerians.
According to him, the economic impact of injecting N9 billion directly into communities across Osun State would be significant, especially for small businesses and informal sector operators struggling with the current economic realities.
“It’s heartening to note that this empowerment programme embarked upon by our local governments’ chairmen for 180,000 people in the state, especially those at the grassroots who are mostly artisans and farmers, among others, will invariably impact on the state economy,” he said.
“With fifty thousand naira to each beneficiary, nine billion naira will be sunk directly into the undertakings of the beneficiaries at the end.”
Akere noted that the ripple effect of the initiative would extend beyond individual beneficiaries, adding that many local businesses and households would benefit indirectly from the circulation of funds within communities.
He stated that empowering people at the grassroots remains one of the fastest ways to stimulate local economic activities and reduce hardship among vulnerable residents.
The former Commissioner also praised the council chairmen for sustaining what he described as a people-oriented programme capable of improving living standards in the state.
He added that the ongoing empowerment exercise shows how local government administration can directly impact citizens when resources are channelled towards welfare-driven programmes.
“We are happy that our elected local government officials across the state who are of the APC stock are rightly showing the way on how the state should be governed for the people at the grassroots to benefit,” Akere said.
“Chiefly, this is one of the reasons we strongly believe that the state and its people will be good for it if APC wins the coming governorship election and President Tinubu is reelected next year.”
Akere further urged the local government chairmen not to relent in delivering programmes that directly benefit residents across the state.
He also called on party stakeholders and members to continue mobilising support for the APC ahead of future elections.
“Our leaders, stakeholders and members of the party should continue to galvanise the interest of the people with a view to ensuring having a strong support base for APC to sail through at the coming elections,” he stated.
“It’s only when we are successful that the teeming populace can continue to benefit from our lofty programmes. We should never relent in doing the needful in this regard.”