Outrage As Reps Member Empowers Constituents With Cassava Sticks
The member, House of Representatives for Calabar and Odukpani Federal Constituency in Cross River State, Mr Bassey Akiba has come under heavy criticism after he distributed tens of cassava stems to some members of his constituency as empowerment to help them cultivate their farms.
The lawmaker on Friday, reportedly took the empowerment exercise to Okoyong in Odukpani local Government Area of the state which adjoins Calabar to distribute the cassava stems with each beneficiary getting ten each.
The gesture, however, generated a lot of uproar in the constituency as many members of the constituency including the beneficiaries see it as a mockery to them.
A member of the constituency, Comrade Ikposa told Vanguard that the cassava stems and fertilisers shared are not entirely initiatives by lawmakers but a Federal Government agricultural interventions project.
“President Tinubu approved the programme and released it to lawmakers early last year, unfortunately, these items were deliberately hoarded and are now being rolled out close to the election period as a campaign tool”
He said the late delivery of the cassava stems exposes the failure of our lawmakers and local government authorities to genuinely complement the efforts of the President.
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“This deliberate sabotage is one of the main reasons governance continues to fail at the grassroots level”
He said the cassava stems have since dried up haven been left in stores for over a year and besides this is not cassava planting season as the sun is still too hot for any cassava stem planted to survive.
One of the recipients of the Reps members’ gesture, Doris Affia said she decided to accept the ten stems given to her to avoid embarrassing the lawmaker.
“I was given ten stems but how many heaps can one cultivate with this number of stems. I just decided to accept them because if I don’t, it will seem I am embarrassing the man and next time if something comes up, I may not be listed again to benefit”
One of the Reps members’ supporters, Hoe Ita said “the bottom line is that he has done something, as against previous assertions by people that he has not done anything”
Efforts to reach the Reps member by Vanguard did not succeed as he did not answer calls on his phone.
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
