By Sam Tyav, Makurdi
A House of Representatives contender for Buruku federal constituency, Benue State, Hon. Alex Adingi has kicked off an oil palm seedlings empowerment program for his constituents.
He said the initiative is to make them self reliant in the face of the nation’s current economic realities.
Addressing journalists at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) House, Makurdi, the state capital, on Monday, the National Assembly aspirant noted that he was compelled to look into the challenges of his people by addressing them even before the decision to seek to represent them in the National Assembly.
Adingi said that he was providing palm trees to the people of Buruku because one palm stand was capable of generating thousands of Naira for the owner -a development, he noted, that could take care of the challenges of his people.
According to the aspirant, he distributed 15000 stands of the palm trees last year and would distribute 65000 additional stands to the people this year, pointing out that each ward would get about 5000 stands.
Adingi said that he hoped to saturate Buruku with palm trees, revealing further that he was equally set to plant palm trees at the boundary areas of his constituency “and anyone on whose piece of land a stand is planted at the boundary becomes the owner.”
The former Special Adviser to the State Governor on Foreign Investment revealed also that a Chinese friend of his has concluded arrangements to equip four schools in Buruku with laboratory equipment to enable students of his constituency be better equipped in the sciences and to even travel to China for further studies.
Adingi who told newsmen that he was favoured by the zoning arrangement to represent Buruku in the National Assembly, added that he has trained some of his people in entrepreneurial skills.
He disclosed also that he was making arrangements for the training of 5000 youths to acquire digital skills so as to get them off the streets and not constitute societal nuisance.
The House of Representatives hopeful who also donated 1000 stands of the palm trees to journalists in the state, told newsmen that he had interfaced with the various communities in the constituency and was aware of all the challenges of his people.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Adingi (with mic) addressing journalists at the briefing.
