Nonye Soludo Empowers 5,000 Anambra Residents With Business Equipment

By Uche Eke

The Wife of the Anambra State Governor, Dr Nonye Soludo, has empowered 5,000 residents across the state with equipment aimed at improving livelihoods, promoting self-reliance and strengthening household incomes.

The empowerment programme, organised under the theme, “Be Your Brother’s Keeper,” saw beneficiaries receive a wide range of equipment and starter materials to establish or expand small-scale businesses.

Speaking during the presentation of the items, Mrs Soludo said the initiative was designed to give residents the practical support needed to become economically independent.

She said, “The aim is to ensure that our people are self-reliant and able to take care of themselves and their families.”

Among the items distributed were ovens and baking equipment, sewing machines, hair dryers, mannequins, generating sets, grills, barbering equipment, makeup kits, refrigerators, piglets, poultry chicks, grinding machines, washing machines and tilling tools, among others.

Mrs Soludo explained that the beneficiaries were carefully selected from the 376 wards across the state’s 21 local government areas to ensure that the intervention reached people who genuinely needed the support.

According to her, the beneficiaries are expected not only to utilise the equipment to improve their businesses and income but also to extend the impact of the programme by training and empowering others.

“Our expectation is that the beneficiaries will go back, utilise what they have received, train others and empower more people. That way, the intention behind this programme will be achieved,” she said.

She also disclosed that a monitoring mechanism had been established at the ward level to ensure that the equipment was used for its intended purposes and to discourage beneficiaries from selling the items.

Mrs Soludo said the government would continue to monitor the beneficiaries and assess the impact of the intervention on their businesses and livelihoods.

Some of the beneficiaries expressed appreciation for the initiative, describing it as a direct and practical form of empowerment.

Mr Charles Okoye from Achina, Miss Blessing Azuka from Dunukofia and Mrs Ngozi Onwuajanma were among those who commended the programme, pledging to make effective use of the equipment provided.

Other beneficiaries also expressed gratitude to the Anambra State Government and promised to put the items to productive use.

The beneficiaries were drawn from all 376 wards across the 21 local government areas of Anambra State, making the intervention a statewide empowerment initiative targeted at improving economic opportunities at the grassroots.