Hon. Matthew Omonade (APC-Ughelli North 1) says it has empowered 1,150 market women, artisans and small-scale business owners in his constituency with a cash grant of N23 million.
Omonade disclosed in an interview with journalists in Asaba on Thursday that each beneficiary got N20,000.
He said the empowerment was aimed at cushioning the current economic hardship and driving small-scale entrepreneurship.
“As an elected representative of my people, my primary responsibility is to ensure that I use every needed arsenal at my disposal to better the lives of my people.
“I did a survey and discovered some people in the market whose total capital is less than N5,000 to N10,000.
“If you give them N20,000, it will help to improve their businesses and livelihood, so I decided to embark on this project,” he said.
The lawmaker said the gesture was within his limit, promising to do more by the grace of God in the future.
“I may not be able to do much, but I believe this cash grant will cushion the effects of hardship and boost their businesses.
“I could have used this money to buy cars or go abroad but that is not leadership.
“Leadership is your ability to impact the lives of your people, and if we can do that, there will be good governance in Nigeria.
“What we are doing is not driven by politics but by a passion for humanity.
“This is because I believe that the best religion in the world is not Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, or Buddhism but humanity,” he said.
Omonade said he had a successful career as a legal practitioner and was motivated by the fact that his people deserved quality representation.
“The essence of electing people for representation is giving them a position to hold in trust on behalf of the people.
“And once you are elected, it becomes a privilege given to you by God to ensure that the position is judiciously used for the good and benefit of the people,” he said.
