Kwara lawmaker empowers artisans, widows with items worth N50m

The lawmaker representing Ilorin South in the Kwara State House of Assembly (KWSHA), Yusuf Maryam Aladi, on Sunday supported and empowered over 1,000 residents, including widows and artisans.

She put the monetary worth of the exercise at well over N20 million.

The lawmaker gave out 20 grinding machines, 20 chest freezers, 20 dryers, 20 catering equipment, 100 hair clippers, generating sets, 20 welding machines, 20 solar panels, 20 sewing machines, and cooking gas to male and female artisans.

At the event held at the Bishop Smith Secondary School, Ilorin, the legislator also supported over 500 widows with cash and food items, including semovita, salt, and N10,000 each, as part of her widow support.

According to her, no fewer than 100 pupils benefit from her education scholarships with due support and encouragement from Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

The guest speaker, Lawal Olohungbebe, urged the youths to be wary of their contributions to the nation’s economy.

Speaking on the title “Contributions of artisans to nation building,” Olohungbebe charged artisans to utilize the trending technology to enhance their productivity.

According to him, networking should be encouraged among artisans, as well as improved customer-relationship practices.

“Your integrity in business is unequalled and unparalleled; it is supposed to be the pride of every artisan,” he urged, adding that promptness and dedication to duty matter in business activities.

The chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sunday Fagbemi, while commending Aladi, said it is not always easy to give back to the source, describing the beneficiaries as the source.

Fagbemi advised the beneficiaries not to sell the items, saying: “Please don’t, for the sake of the ravaging economic hardship, sell these items. Empower yourselves with them; the donor has good intentions for you to break the shackles of poverty.”