History was made in Oyo State on Friday as over 3000 youths and women including widows drawn from the twenty local government areas that make up the Oyo Central and the Oyo South Senatorial Districts received social empowerment tools from the Chairman Senate Committee on Local Content, Senator Teslim Folarin.
Speaking while distributing the items at Ilaji Stadium in Ona-Ara Local Government Area of Oyo State, the Oyo Central Senator glorified Almighty ALLAH for spearing his life, families and domestic aides when hoodlums launched a surprise attack on his Oluyole residence during the last year #ENDSARS protests.
Recall that coordinated hoodlums, on 24th of October 2020, stormed the lawmaker’s house and looted over N200 million worth of empowerment materials. While recounting his losses, Oloye Folarin promised his constituents that the looted items would be replaced but the mega empowerment programme could no longer hold in December 2020 as earlier scheduled.
Oloye Folarin noted that the empowerment programme was organised to assist thousands of unemployed people in his Oyo Central Senatorial District and by extension Oyo South Senatorial District. He urged the beneficiaries to shun temptation of selling off the items, but utilise them so that they can be self reliant.
Former Governor Alao-Akala performed the ceremonial cutting of tape to unveil the empowerment and entrepreneurship materials that included cars, motorcycles, sewing machines, grinding machines, vulcanising machines, deep freezers, clippers, salon hairdryers, generating sets, laptops, agrochemical sprayers, gas cylinders and among others
Senator Folarin disclosed that in his almost 2years sojourn in the 9th Senate, he strove to impact positively on the lives of the people and communities in Oyo Central and other parts of Oyo State.
The three-term Federal lawmaker while delivering his speech, said: “Since the inauguration of the 9th National Assembly on 11th June 2019, I have focused my energy towards delivering qualitative representation. Not just to my constituency of Oyo Central Senatorial District, but Oyo State at large. It’s on record that I have moved important motions sponsored people-oriented Bills, helped secure jobs for hundreds of unemployed youths, facilitated ICT Centres into several local governments, facilitated the construction of modern blocks of classrooms, organised trainings programmes in skills acquisition and modern agricultural techniques, facilitated solar-panel streetlights to vulnerable areas, helped secure FG loans for hundreds of constituents, provided (and continuing to provide) COVID-19 reliefs for the most vulnerable constituents, facilitated industrial solar-powered boreholes, assisted widows and people with disability with business start-up cash, disbursed bursaries for students, held mentoring sessions with undergraduates, supported traditional rulers, religious leaders, groups, and many others. These achievements were made possible by the overwhelming support I received from Federal Govt ministries, agencies and departments.”
He also informed the gathering of ongoing efforts to facilitate infrastructural development and other projects that will bring economic development to Oyo Central and other parts of Oyo State. While reiterating his commitment to the development of his constituency and the state at large, the lawmaker called for more understanding and support.
Present at the empowerment programme included former Governor of Oyo State and Chairman Oyo State APC Elders Advisory Council – Otunba Christopher Alao-Akala; Senator Abdulfatai Buhari of Oyo North Senatorial District, Rt. Hon. Olusegun Odebunmi Bunvic representing Surulere/Ogo-Oluwa Federal Constituency; Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Akeem Skimeh representing Afijio/Atiba/Oyo East/Oyo West Federal Constituency; Hon. Tolu Akande-Sadipe representing Oluyole Federal Constituency; former Speaker and present minority leader of Oyo State House of Assembly- Rt. Asimiyu Alarape; State Secretary of Oyo APC – Hon. Mojeed Olaoya and other dignitaries.
Senator Folarin’s Achievements So Far in the 9th Nigerian Senate
