Chinwe Ugwu, caretaker committee chairman, Nsukka Local Government Area, has empowered women in the council with headpans, shovels and trovels, weeks after giving out wheelbarrows on hire purchase to some youths.
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The empowerment exercise took place at the council secretariat on Tuesday.
Ugwu gave out 50 headpans, 50 shovels and 20 trowels at the event.
It was gathered that some residents of the council, however, flayed the interim boss’ gesture.
According to some of them, the so-called empowerment is a way to continue to make them live in abject poverty.
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Chijinkem Ugwuanyi, an indigene of the area and public affairs analyst, faulted the Local Government boss’ gesture, describing it as “malnourished empowerment”.
Despite being criticised for empowering youths with wheelbarrows on January 13, 2020, Ugwu said she had no apology for her action.
“I don’t feel bad at all. I don’t see anything bad in what I have done. I have no apology for anybody.
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“People, who don’t understand what I have done, can go ahead and say whatever they like. I even want to make it up to 100.
“These are poor people who cannot afford to buy wheelbarrow but had to hire for between N200 and N300 per day.
“Some youths came to me and made the request on behalf of the wheelbarrow pushers and I told them to go and write down the names of those that cannot afford to buy their own.
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“You need to see how happy they were that they now have their own, which was given to them free of charge.
“They were asked to write whatever inscription they liked on the wheelbarrow because it now belonged to them.
“They were so happy that some of them came to me, asking, Mayor, can we touch you? You need to have seen them.
“They were so happy and I have no apology. I’ll even do more. I heard that some labourers hire shovels and head pans for mason and concrete work.
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“I’ll also buy head pans and shovels for them so that they can feed their families,” Ugwu said at the time.