A member of the National Assembly and a senator representing Akwa Ibom North East senatorial district, Bassey Albert Akpan says he has empowered his constituents with programmes and projects worth over N360 million as part of efforts to improve their livelihood and boost their economic fortunes.
Akpan, who is the chairman, Senate Committee on oil and gas, made the claim during a brief ceremony to mark his 6th anniversary as a senator, adding that he has also built a model constituency office with the full complement of staff to attend to constituents and provide feedback on the impact and services being provided.
“Within the last 72 months, my office, through the constituency centre, has impacted the lives of constituents in the Senatorial District to the tune of over N360 million in allowances and general services,” he said.
He further said that he has also given succour to “over 5,000 indigenes covering allocation of over 110 cars, including jeeps, given out hundreds of motorcycles, tricycles, sewing machines, hairdressing equipment and various trade/business empowerments to enhance the living standard of our people and carried out skills acquisition trainings, inclusive of free starter packs to beneficiaries.”
According to him, the projects in the nine local government areas in the Senatorial District cover facilitation of roads construction/Flood and Erosion Control, Market Stalls/Toilet facilities, Solar-powered Water Schemes, Fish processing Plants/Equipment, Skills Acquisition Centres, Swimming Pool, amongst others.
The senator added that the 94 wards in the nine local government areas of the constituency formed the focus in all of these primary empowerment programmes while the secondary phases covered institutions, bodies and indigent persons across the entire State.
In addition, he said an event centre which has a capacity for 2,000 guests with facilities including an events hall, recreational centre, a standard football pitch, lawn tennis and basketball courts and skills acquisition centre as well as children playground will soon be commissioned.
“It will primarily serve our constituents and others as well and is free of all costs. This, I believe, is our noble contribution towards enhancing the healthy standards of our people. I do this with all excitement because in giving back to the people that have shown me so much love and support; I will always give without looking back.”
He said 38 students have benefited from his scholarship scheme which covers studying in various higher institutions across the country while the scholarship covers 100percent of tuition fees plus N20, 000 stipends to each beneficiary annually.
The lawmaker, who also disclosed that his office showed love and care across homes, institutions and organisations in the state during the Covid-19 pandemic, added that apart from cash transfers to constituents and others in the state, it also supplied palliatives and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to health workers, government and private offices, unions, socio-cultural bodies, market women, transporters, and medical institutions amongst others. He said the exercise gulped over N100 million.
He assured the people of his continued readiness to provide them with empowerment programmes as a reward to them for standing by him as his representative in the upper chamber of the National Assembly while pledging his loyalty to Governor Udom Emmanuel and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
