The Vice Chairman of Uyo Local Government, Amb. Ukai Udeme recently gave out bicycles, clothing and implements for palm wine tapping to some residents in villages of Uyo, Akwa Ibom state.

The empowerment items sparked outrage and concern among citizens who said that the materials would add little or no value to the lives of the recipient while others have argued that the villagers were empowered with the right and necessary items due to the fact that they depend on the traditional occupation for survival.

Last year, the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, was largely mocked and criticised after handing over branded wheelbarrows to the youths.
According to a media aide of the Governor, the gesture is to make the youths self-reliant and self-employed instead of going around looking for non-existent white collar jobs.

To justify the wheelbarrow empowerment scheme, a government official noted that the move by the Governor came because Benue is a state known for farming and the governor decided to provide youths with wheelbarrows to help in carrying their produce from their farmlands.