Member representing Calabar South/Akpabuyo/Bakassi Federal Constituency, Pastor Essien Ayi, has empowered his constituents with items worth millions of naira.
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Ayi, who has been in the House for 20 years, said: “Initially, I used to site projects here and there but I found out that they do not really have a maintenance culture. For instance, if you site a solar borehole in the village and the tap gets bad, that’s the end.

“I found out that you can take up to N20 million to site a project and within two years, the project is abandoned. 

“In the last two or three tenures, what I did was to empower people by buying materials like catering equipment, barbing kits, generators, tricycles and minibuses. Government cannot employ everyone, so I try to get these materials to set up businesses for the people. By so doing I try to reduce youth restiveness.” 

On a feedback mechanism to ensure the empowerment is judiciously applied, Ayi said: “Some people are using them and some people sold them. Like in 2014 when I gave tricycles and minibuses, buyers were outside ready to buy from the beneficiaries of such empowerment. But a very large number of people in my constituency have been empowered.”
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