This is just beginning of APC’s empowerment agenda – Barau Jibrin

Deputy Senate President, Barau I. Jibrin, has assured that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is committed to empowering its members and Nigerians at large, describing the party’s latest intervention as just the beginning of the beginning.

He revealed this during an empowerment program held on Sunday at Meena event centre .

Barau stated that the initiative prioritized party leaders who, according to him, are already hardworking individuals contributing to society.

“We decided to start with empowering our party leaders who are part and parcel of the society. We know that the members of the leadership of APC are well-to-do people because most of them are farmers and hardworking people,” he said.

As part of the initiative, Jibrin distributed 1,037 motorcycles and 63 cars to party leaders from the ward to local government levels.

Barau explained that the purpose of this empowerment was to create self-sufficiency and economic independence among beneficiaries.

“The reason is this: we want them to give an okada rider [a motorcycle] so that the beneficiaries will be independent, feed the people he is feeding, or even use it himself. When that is done, the money will help,” he added.

The senator further emphasized that the distribution of vehicles would create employment opportunities, as each leader receiving a car is expected to employ a driver.

“That will go a long way to reduce problems in our society,” he noted.

Barau also reiterated APC’s commitment to broader empowerment programs, targeting farmers, women, traders, and students.

He assured that the initiative is only a glimpse of what the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has in store.

“What we are doing is just a tip of the iceberg compared to what our president, Tinubu, has planned for us,” he said.

He added that initiatives like the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) would significantly benefit students, including those at Bayero University.

“You see what he is doing with NELFUND, students can now go to school. He has also created a commission to intervene, restructure, and improve infrastructure.”

In his remarks, the National Chairman of the APC, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, commended the Deputy President of the Senate for the empowerment and urged others to follow suit.

Ganduje also commended the economic reforms under the Tinubu administration, claiming they were yielding positive results.

“The cost of petrol has started coming down, the cost of food items has started coming down, and the value of the naira has started appreciating. Our country will be taken to the next level.”

Prominent APC leaders like the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Rep Alhassan Ado Doguwa, the Kano State chairman of the APC, Prince Abdullahi Abbas were present among others.

The cars and motorcycles were distributed to party chairmen in the 44 local government areas and 484 wards of Kano State.