House of Representatives member representing Chanchaga Federal constituency, Niger State, Mohammed Umar Bago, has donated assorted types of equipment worth millions of naira to 2, 000 state indigenes to enable them establish businesses of their own.
At the official commissioning of his Constituency Office and Empowerment by the Umar Bago Foundation in Minna, the lawmaker said that the gesture was part of fulfilment of his electioneering promises to the electorates.
Bago pointed out that the future of Nigeria largely depends on the youths, stressing that the government alone cannot create jobs for the millions of jobless Nigerians.
“This is the 5th stream of the Bago Foundation’s project and we have for distribution to lucky beneficiaries; 1,000 motorcycles, 250 trycycles, 1,000 grinding machines, 1, 500 sewing machines, 3,000 barbing clippers, 1,000 generators,” Bago said.
He called for more support in job creation as a way of keeping youths away from crime, saying, “the 1,000 deep freezers, 1,000 fridges, 1,000 carriage motorbikes, 1,500 vulganizer machines and 1,500 water pump machines for irrigation farming will go a long way in improving the beneficiaries’ well being.
“We are doing this programme in phases and our intention is to reach the commonest man in the constituency and affect every life in the state including non-indigenes. Today we are giving out these working tools to enable the beneficiaries start own businesses”.
Bago said that the beneficiaries were drawn from the ward level, All Progressives Congress (APC) executive and members in Chanchaga constituency, non-indigenes, campaign coordinators, women and youths who have undergone required training.
The Bago Foundation is collaborating with the Niger State Ministry of Agriculture to encourage youths in agricultural sector to engage in irrigation farming and also in partnership with the National Directorate for Employment (NDE) for job creation, the House of Rep member said.
on behalf of the beneficiaries, Alhaji Muka Fasasi expressed appreciation to the lawmaker and called on other legislators to emulate Bago who has made sacrifices towards alleviating the sufferings of the people of his constituency.
Niger State APC chairman, Jibril Imam, however, commended Bago for the empowerment and called on other state and federal lawmakers to emulate him by allowing dividends of democracy reach the electorate, particularly the less privileged ones.