In a major grassroots intervention on Sunday, Hon. Adewumi Adeyemi, member representing Obokun State Constituency in the Osun State House of Assembly, empowered more than 300 residents with skills tools, cash grants and business equipment under his annual “Skills to Wealth Empowerment Scheme,” a programme valued at about N100 million aimed at boosting local livelihoods and economic resilience.
Held at Ibokun, the headquarters of Obokun Local Government Area, the event saw beneficiaries from across the constituency receive an array of support items tailored to their trades and businesses, from generators and grinding machines to sewing machines and deep freezers, with the intent of turning skills and small businesses into sustainable income sources.
In a notable push for social inclusion, Adeyemi’s programme allocated special support to 10 persons living with disabilities, each of whom received multipurpose mobile shops fitted with POS machines alongside a N200,000 startup grant to help expand their trading activities beyond subsistence levels.
Other beneficiaries collected tools that directly match their vocations, including clippers and generators for barbers, hair dryers for stylists, sewing machines for tailors, grinding machines for food processors and deep freezers for traders, as well as motorcycle tyres and cash grants for market women and micro-entrepreneurs.
In a statement issued ahead of the event, Adeyemi emphasised that the scheme was designed not merely as a giveaway, but as a tool for sustainable economic advancement.
“I do this every year not for politics, but because I know the pain of having skill without tools,” he said.
“This programme is a lifeline for our people to regain their dignity.”
The lawmaker framed the empowerment drive as part of his ongoing commitment to ensuring that the dividends of democracy reach those at the grassroots, particularly artisans, small-scale traders and low-income constituents who may struggle to grow their businesses without access to capital and equipment.
The empowerment ceremony was attended by high-profile figures, including the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Adewale Egbedun, Hon. Bamidele Salam, who represents the Ede North/Ede South/Egbedore/Ejigbo Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, and Osun PDP Chairman, Sunday Bisi.
Salam praised Adeyemi’s approach, saying the programme demonstrated representation about people, not just position.”
Speaker Egbedun described the initiative as a model for other constituencies, underlining its potential to inspire similar empowerment drives across the state.
Several recipients of the support spoke to the impact of the initiative. Mrs. Rebecca Oni, a mother of three living with a disability, said the mobile shop and startup grant would significantly improve her trading prospects.
“This will help me expand my small trading business beyond my home,” she said, expressing heartfelt thanks to the lawmaker for the life-changing support.
The “Skills to Wealth” scheme continues a broader trend among Nigerian lawmakers who are increasingly using empowerment programmes, including tool distribution, cash grants and small-business support, as a means of job creation, poverty alleviation and economic inclusion within their constituencies.
Participants and onlookers alike described the initiative as timely and impactful, especially at a period where small traders and artisans face economic pressures from broader national and local market conditions.
