A member of G-15 and former All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Kwara State Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki-Gambari at the weekend splashed over N4 billion on empowerment programme in support of residents of the state.
Seriki-Gambari aka ambassador said the programme is meant to drum support for President Bola Tinubu and his deputy’s next year’s re-election bid.
The APC chieftain said this in Ilorin while unveiling his empowerment package entitled ‘Yahaya Seriki Empowerment and Enterprise Colloquium.’
The package comprises N1 billion and about N3.2 billion worth of items including 150 vehicles modern sewing machines etc.
He said the package was designed to help beneficiaries improve their livelihoods and achieve economic independence.
He added that the programme was motivated by his desire to give back to society and create opportunities for people to make progress through different means of livelihood.
‘The purpose of this empowerment is to help people progress in their own way. All I am doing is giving back to the society that brought me this far’ he added.
‘When God blesses you and you have enough failing to make other people smile means you are poor in spirit. Making other people happy is something I strongly believe in and enjoy doing’ he said.
He said he believed that individuals who had attained financial success should use their resources to improve the lives of others and provide opportunities for those who needed support.
On the 2027 elections the APC guber aspirant declared his support for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima describing the President’s policies as necessary for Nigeria’s development.
‘This empowerment programme is in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I believe we have never had it this good in the history of Nigeria.
‘We have a President who believes in building a better country and changing the narrative for the better’ he said.
He urged Nigerians particularly young people to support Tinubu’s second-term ambition insisting that the country should rally behind the President.
In his remarks at the event Senator representing Kwara Central applauded the gesture.
Mallam Mustapha now PDP Kwara central senatorial candidate said ‘my brother Ambassador Yahaya Seriki-Gambari today demonstrated yet again his remarkable commitment to humanity through a one-of-its-kind empowerment programme during which he distributed vehicles tools and equipment for artisans and other valuable items worth billions of naira.
‘This is certainly not his first intervention of this magnitude and I sincerely hope and pray that it will not be his last.
‘For me this is particularly heartwarming because it reflects a philosophy of service that I have consistently believed in and practised over the years first through the Saliu Mustapha Foundation and now under the auspices of my office as the Senator representing the Kwara Central Senatorial District.
‘Time and again I have challenged my principal rival in the forthcoming senatorial election to point to just one tangible enduring contribution he made to infrastructure or human capital development before assuming public office.
‘Something verifiable something impactful something that has stood the test of time. Till today neither he nor his supporters have provided a convincing answer to that challenge.
‘And therein lies the fundamental difference between those who have invested their personal resources time and energy in uplifting people and communities long before seeking public office and those whose claim to public relevance began only after political power was handed to them on a platter.
‘More often than not the difference in these backgrounds becomes even more evident in the quality of leadership and the outcomes they deliver while in office.’
Senator Mustapha added ‘To all the beneficiaries there is a clear thin line between luck and opportunity. I urge you to make the most of these opportunities put the items received to productive use improve your livelihoods and contribute meaningfully to the development of our society.
‘May Almighty Allah continue to bless and strengthen everyone who genuinely seeks to uplift humanity’.
Spokesperson of the G-15 Senator Yahaya Olorieghe also described the empowerment initiative as an opportunity to support the progress and development of Kwara State expressing confidence in the capacity of such interventions to improve people’s livelihoods.