The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation and lawmaker representing Ogun West Senatorial District, Olamilekan Adeola, on Sunday, gave traders in Ogun West Senatorial District N250m grants and offered scholarships to students.
The beneficiaries were about 5,000 traders from the five Local Government Areas in the senatorial district with each trader getting N50,000.
Adeola popularly called Yayi, also gave out N100,000 bursary awards each to 1,000 indigent tertiary institution students.
Another set of 600 students from the senatorial district benefitted from the maiden edition of the lawmaker’s scholarship programme.
Under the scholarship, university students received N200,000, while polytechnics and colleges of education students received N175,000 and N150,000, respectively.
Speaking during the empowerment programme on Sunday in Ilaro, Yewa South LGA, Adeola explained that it was important to contribute to the socioeconomic development of communities.
He said, “I observed the serious economic challenges of our market women and men in their trading activities, particularly in the area of cash flow to sustain and expand their businesses.
“While empowering the traders, I have noted that their only succour was Governor Dapo Abiodun’s commendable programme tagged “Oko Owo Dapo”, which provided our market women and men with some finance.”
He said that the programme was facilitated in conjunction with the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research.
The lawmaker added that the grant was a micro-financing initiative to boost the businesses of market men and women, adding that it was not a loan but a grant to bring succour to a critical sector.
“Beneficiaries are drawn from the five local government areas that constituted Ogun West Senatorial District. In all, 5,000 market women and men are benefitting from financial grants to the tune of N50,000 each,” he said.
Earlier, the Iyaloja General of Ogun State, Mrs Yemisi Abas, appreciated the lawmaker for the kind gesture.
She stated that it was the second year the market men and women would be benefiting from the grant.
