Kunle Adelabu
-Plans offices in five councils in Lagos East
As promised during his campaign for the Lagos East Senatorial seat in the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly in Abuja, Sen. Adetokunbo Mikhail Abiru has unveiled his programmes for his constituents.
He announced his plans for Empowerment, Skill Acquisitions, Scholarships and Interest Free – Loan programmes and stated that they are scheduled to commence at the end of March this year.
Another programme, COVID Relief Support aimed at supporting about 2000 constituents bi monthly, will kick – off this January with ten beneficiary nominations each from the wards, LGAs, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Muslim community, party leaders and traditional rulers in Lagos East.
For the COVID Relief Support, Abiru said that he will give N5, 000 each to beneficiaries which include vulnerable constituents such as widows, people with special needs, aged, women and unemployed youth/state boys.
Sen. Abiru disclosed this at a meeting with the 16 APC Local Government Areas (LGAs) Chairmen and representatives of the 84 Wards in the Lagos East Senatorial District who were represented by the Chairmen of the Ward Chairmen’s Forum in each LGA, held at his Ikorodu District Office located along the T.O.S Benson Avenue, Ikorodu.
“Why we are here is to share with you our programmes to support the constituents and our party people”, Abiru said.
“I will not be talking about anything new apart from what I spoke about during the campaign. These are just about the endowment and empowerment that I think that I can do personally.
“Aside the COVID Relief support, there are other programmes that we are hoping will be put in place before the end of the first quarter”.
He also said that the forum will be maintained for the review and feedback on the unveiled programmes.
“We are going to maintain this gathering so that we will be back here at the end of every quarter to review and talk to ourselves on feedbacks”, he said.
“Through that, we will know how to enhance and communicate with ourselves.
“I am hoping that before the end of March, the three other programmes (empowerment, skill acquisition and scholarship) will be in place.
Skill Acquisitions
According to the Banker turned Senator, his idea about the skill acquisition programme is to search for good centres among the existing ones, sponsored willing applicants for programs and establish them in line with what they study.
While stating that interested applicants will be generated through the LGAs, Wards and other avenues, Abiru also added that his team is still working on the idea to ensure that a sustainable programme is instituted.
“It requires proper planning because we don’t want a situation where we will end up not achieving the aims of the programme. The way we want the skill acquisition to work is actually to visit skill centres and see the ones that are still very viable so that we can identify them for the programme”, he revealed.
“We are not going to sit down here to identify them, but we are going to put the work into the hands of those that are grassroots representatives.
“Just like we did with the COVID Relief Support, we will only limit it to what our capacity can take. If it is five persons each from each local government, that is what we are going to do.
“The whole essence is that we would review all the skill centres and look at the ones that we think that we are comfortable with and we will be ready to sponsor people for either six or a year programme believing that once you go for the programme, we can offer you with what to start business with at the end of the training.
“There are chances that anyone that can endure the train and complete such will use it to work and earn a living.
“It cannot take off immediately but we are working very hard behind the scenes. I want to assure that by the end of March, that update must be full enough to address how far that we would have gone about it and then you can ask us questions”, he added.
“That is the kind of the rapport that I want us to have. It must not be about me being a Senator. Let us have a continuous dialogue and I will tell you what my capacity can afford”.
Scholarship
On the proposed scholarship programme for students, Senator Abiru, while unveiling his own idea on the programme, said that his focus will be on the tertiary institutions with emphasis on not just granting students scholarship but also mentoring them, preparing them for the work environment and assisting beneficiaries with employment.
“The focus for me in particular when it comes to scholarship will be more of tertiary institutions, especially University. But the way and manner that we would go about it is that we would make it more competitively”, the former banker said.
“Whatever number that would be given would be spread across the five LGAs. There will be no room for any individual getting two or three.
“If it is just five that we have the capacity to start with, it will cut across the five local governments in the District.
“My own sense of the scholarship is that it’s not really about money per se but about mentoring those that will be getting the scholarship. We can engage them here and I will be available too if possible and talk to them”.
Senator Abiru stated that lack of mentorship for students has caused a lot of bad decisions which make many students to be unemployable after graduation.
“Part of the problems of a lot of our students is that they don’t have mentors to talk to and guide them. I remember that in those days, you will start having mentors from Form Four”, he recalled.
“We have a larger problem borne out of the economic challenges creating unemployment and others, but again, there are still people getting employment. It is all about guidance.
“Part of the kind of scholarship that we are praying and hoping to have is to be able to mentor our scholars and possibly assist them with employment.
“From my own background, there are qualities that you must possess to get employment even in trying times.
“Before I came here (joining politics), you know that I have over 8000 people in my employment and every year, I can tell you that 5% of them must leave at the end of the year. It is compulsory. You must have the call, exit and encouragement modal.
“There will be no space for others if there is no exit. So, the work is performance – driven. You will need to promote some people and as you promote and enhance other people’s careers, some will fall short and meant to go. It is a normal rule of life.
“What is more important is that as you do it, you must also recruit more people. While recruiting them, the competition is usually very intense and rightly so because of the environment we live in.
“We have to guide people when they are going into schools on courses that they can secure employment with easily after graduation and ones that will not only grant them employment but also career”.
Stating what his scholarship programme will set out to achieve, Abiru said:
“Our mentoring will assist people in knowing what to do to have sustainable employment and also will let them know what is obtainable in their lines of business.
“When we are mentoring, we will let them know that you can study Biology or Architecture but that doesn’t stop them from venturing into business. There are several people who are contemporary CEOs who are not accountants or economists but lawyers but rose to become the managing director of a bank.
“The scholarship scheme that we will have might not accommodate large numbers but whatever the number, even if it is five, we would try as much as possible to put them on a guidance line, beyond the scholarship award”, he assured.
“We have to be talking to them because we don’t want them to come out and don’t have anything to do.”
Interest Free Loan
The Senator who was former Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Polaris Bank PLC, before retiring last year to join the Senatorial contest, said that the interest free loan and petty trade development are what he’s bringing into politics as a former banker.
While stating that his target will be petty traders who are in need of N10, 000 to start or further their businesses, the Senator also charged LGAs and Ward Chairmen present at the unveiling event to be careful and sure of those that they will be recommending for the loan.
He added that he is not institutionalising the scheme to make any profit but as part of his contributions to assist petty traders, which is it will be an interest free loan.
“Also, before the end of the first quarter in March, we would have also concluded our interest free loan programme for those engaging in petty trading.
“This is my way of assisting our people with my own background. I am not doing this as business or to make gain, that is why it is interest free. The loan will be for the petty traders”, he said.
“The concern will be more for those who are vulnerable. Those women who cannot afford N10, 000 to start business. There are those get goods on credit everyday and end up giving up what ought to be their profits in paying back.
“These are the kind of innocent traders that we are worried about and we want to help. This is my own contract with my own conscience”, Abiru said.
“An environment cannot give you their mandate and you refuse to give back in whatever little way.
“The model that we would run is that we would have to get it done even if we are going to give 25 people each in each of the Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas.
“Again, we cannot sit down to identify those that will benefit. It has to be through you but you must be aware of your own responsibility by ensuring that those that you are recommending are going to return the money”, he warned.
“It is only when they return the money that others can benefit from the facility. It is meant to assist people and those that will be benefiting too must be ready to assist us in returning the loan.
“When the loan is returned, it will also be useful for the beneficiaries because they will have the opportunity of increasing the amount that they can access”, he said.
Satellite Offices
“In as much as the secretariat of the team is here (in Ikorodu), we have mandated four people to search for satellite offices in Epe, Ibeju, Kosofe and Somolu/Bariga. It doesn’t have to be as pronounced as this (main office in Ikorodu)”, he announced to jubilant politicians.
“They are meant to be coordinating centres in those locations for people to lodge their complaints there rather than coming to Ikorodu and they can be rest assured that there will be a connect between those offices and Ikorodu on a daily basis”, he assured constituents of those areas where the satellite offices will be located.
“By doing this, it won’t appear that everything has been done here as that will not be representative enough. We have to get satellite locations to host others too. I think that it will make a lot of sense and that is also what quality representation is all about. It must have presence”, he explained.
“The satellite offices must be in place before we come back here by the grace of God”, he said.
