The Senator representing Oyo Central Senatorial District, Yunus Abiodun Akintunde, has disbursed ₦25 million to traders across the 11 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the district as part of efforts to support small-scale businesses and stimulate local economic activities.

 

The empowerment programme, which lasted several days, was coordinated by the Iyaloja of Oyo State, Alhaja Saratu Aduke, in collaboration with the State Executive Council of market leaders. The senator was represented at the various locations by his local government coordinators and other representatives, who supervised the distribution of the grants.

 

The exercise began in Oluyole Local Government Area before moving to Oyo Town, where beneficiaries from Afijio, Atiba, Oyo East and Oyo West LGAs received their grants. Each council was allocated ₦2.2 million, amounting to ₦8.8 million for the four LGAs.

 

Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries in Oyo Town, Alhaja Atoke commended Akintunde for fulfilling his pledge to support traders, confirming that the ₦8.8 million allocated to the four councils had been paid directly into the beneficiaries’ bank accounts.

 

She described the initiative as timely, saying it would strengthen the businesses of market women and other petty traders. She also urged residents of Oyo Central to continue supporting the senator.

 

The distribution team subsequently moved to Surulere and Ogo Oluwa LGAs before continuing to Akinyele and Ona Ara. The exercise ended in Egbeda and Lagelu LGAs, completing the district-wide distribution.

 

Overall, each of the 11 LGAs—Afijio, Akinyele, Atiba, Egbeda, Lagelu, Ogo Oluwa, Oluyole, Ona Ara, Oyo East, Oyo West and Surulere—received ₦2.2 million for distribution to traders.

 

In a message conveyed through his representatives led by Hon. Femi Akintunde, the senator expressed appreciation to the Iyaloja of Oyo State, the State Executive Council of market leaders, local government coordinators and market associations for ensuring the successful implementation of the programme.

 

Also speaking on behalf of the senator, Adeyemo Abiodun thanked traders for their continued support and urged them to remain committed to the programmes of the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying such support would encourage the implementation of more people-oriented initiatives across the district.

 

He added that empowering small-scale traders remains a practical strategy for stimulating economic growth, strengthening family livelihoods and expanding opportunities for local enterprises, stressing that the senator would continue to pursue initiatives aimed at improving the welfare of constituents across Oyo Central Senatorial District.