… Distributes Vehicles, Over 10 Transformers, nearly 2,000 Solar Systems, Business Equipment; ₦225 million in cash support to 800 Entrepreneurs
In a sweeping intervention spanning infrastructure, transportation, household energy and enterprise development, Rep. Babajimi Adegoke Benson, Member representing Ikorodu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, on Tuesday, October 20, delivered what observers described as an unprecedented empowerment exercise in the history of Ikorodu, distributing an extensive range of assets and business support to constituents under Jimi Benson’s Renewed Hope Mega Empowerment programme.
Held at the Ikorodu Musical Village, the programme was facilitated by Benson as a Federal Government empowerment initiative inspired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. It brought together beneficiaries from across Ikorodu Federal Constituency, political leaders, community stakeholders and dignitaries from within and outside the division.
Among the prominent personalities in attendance were Lagos State Deputy Governor and APC governorship candidate, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat; his running mate, Princess Damilola Sonayon-James; Lagos State APC Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi; and Director-General of the KOH Campaign Organisation, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, alongside traditional rulers and political leaders from across Ikorodu Division.
The scale and diversity of the intervention distinguished the exercise, with support extending beyond conventional business tools to include vehicles for transportation and commercial operations, equipment for artisans, household energy solutions, digital devices and substantial cash assistance for entrepreneurs.
At the heart of the programme was direct financial assistance to 800 constituents seeking to establish, sustain or expand their businesses. Seven hundred beneficiaries received ₦250,000 each, while another 100 received ₦500,000 each, bringing the total cash business support to ₦225 million.
The financial component was complemented by the distribution of equipment intended to help beneficiaries translate their skills and business ideas into productive economic activity.
Among the items distributed were over 100 HP laptops, about 150 standard sewing machines and 20 industrial sewing machines, alongside 20 vulcanising machines, 20 welding generators, 20 grinding machines and 20 conventional generators. These were complemented by almost 300 units of different sizes of deep freezers, providing support for different categories of small businesses and trades.
The range of equipment reflected an intervention designed to reach beneficiaries across several occupations rather than concentrate support in a single sector.
Transportation and security received substantial attention, with the distribution including five security patrol vans, approximately 15 brand-new buses, 10 cars, 20 brand-new minibuses, 21 additional tokunbo minibuses, 20 motorcycles, 10 electric bikes and about 50 tricycles, popularly known as Marwa.
The transport assets offer potential support for commercial mobility and passenger services, while the security patrol vans provide a separate category of support for security-related operations.
The programme also saw the handover of more than 10 electricity transformers, extending the intervention beyond individual beneficiaries to infrastructure with the potential to serve communities and support economic activity.
Household energy support formed another major component, with almost 2,000 solar home systems distributed alongside fans and bulbs.
The initiative provided an alternative source of basic household electricity, while the inclusion of gas cylinders and other domestic equipment broadened the programme’s household-support component.
The gas-cylinder distribution comprised 250 cylinders of 3kg capacity, 450 cylinders of 6kg capacity and 100 cylinders of 12.5kg capacity.
Taken together, the household packages, business equipment, transport assets and infrastructure support made the programme a wide-ranging intervention that addressed needs at different levels of community life.
Benson’s facilitation of the programme brought a Federal Government empowerment initiative directly to constituents in Ikorodu, translating the Renewed Hope framework into a distribution exercise covering both individual livelihoods and community needs.
The programme’s structure reflected several dimensions of economic empowerment: financial support for entrepreneurs, tools for skilled workers, transport assets for commercial use, digital devices and equipment for businesses, and household energy solutions.
The presence of Hamzat, Sonayon-James, Ojelabi, Obanikoro and other political leaders further underscored the significance of the gathering within Ikorodu’s political and community landscape.
For the beneficiaries, the central opportunity lies in putting the resources to productive use—whether by expanding an existing enterprise, establishing a new source of income, improving household energy access or supporting transportation and other services.
The Renewed Hope Mega Empowerment thus marked a major constituency intervention facilitated by Rep. Benson, bringing together a broad spectrum of support in a single event and placing economic opportunity, productive assets and community infrastructure at the centre of the day’s activities.
