Use empowerment schemes for self-development, lawmaker urges youths

A Lawmaker, Mr. Wale Raji, on Tuesday urged youths to embrace and utilize the Federal Government’s empowerment schemes to develop themselves.

Raji, a Member representing Epe Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, made the appeal in an interview in Epe.

According to him, most youths don’t utilize government empowerment schemes to develop themselves; rather, they abuse such opportunities.

“Using Epe Constituency as a case study, I have empowered over 40 youths with tricycles, sewing machines, grinding machines, cooking utensils, and hair-cutting and hairdressing machines.

“But many of the beneficiaries abuse the opportunity by selling the equipment, tools, and machinery meant for self-development.

“This attitude is discouraging and frustrating; our youths need to wake up and get serious with their careers,” Raji said.

The lawmaker further said that empowerment programs had become serious business, as youth empowerment would now be on merit and for people who were ready to utilize them.

“I will rather invest money on skilled and meaningful empowerment schemes than to buy tricycles and other locomotives that can easily be sold,” he said.

Raji said that some of the programs he had recently executed included vocational and technical empowerment, educational support, youth empowerment, a million naira worth of grants to market women, and other interventions.

He said that some of his achievements included job employment for over 30 youths, the construction of blocks of classrooms, libraries, and buildings, the renovation of over 500 shops in the market, and the improvement of the constituency healthcare system.

He added that in his third term as a lawmaker, all ongoing projects would be completed and many innovative projects would emerge.