By Nahum Sule, Jalingo
Dr. Obed Paul Shehu, Member of the House of Representatives for Kaltungo/Shongom Federal Constituency, Gombe State, has announced that he has disbursed over fifty million naira in grants to his constituents without federal budgetary allocation.
This initiative, he noted, has been in effect since he assumed office a year ago.
Speaking with Voice of Nigeria in Abuja, Dr. Obed revealed, “Despite the 2024 National Assembly Budget allocation for Zonal Intervention Projects not being released, I have personally impacted over 100 people in my constituency, providing grants to boost their businesses.”
Dr. Obed emphasized addressing local unemployment: “Unemployment is high among our youths. That’s why we are tackling it locally, while the federal government addresses it nationally. We’ve given over fifty million naira in grants to business persons, mostly young men and women, highlighting our priority to empower them rather than keeping them dependent on handouts.”
He added, “I’m an entrepreneur myself and believe in leading by example. Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are crucial, contributing 45% to our GDP and employing over 70% of our workforce. Effective business requires training and startup grants. Hence, our focus on modern agricultural techniques since most of our people are farmers.”
Responding to critics of the zonal intervention projects in the 2024 budget, Dr. Obed argued, “A productive society starts with knowledge acquisition through training. We are focusing on mining as a future revenue source. The federal government is diversifying into mining, and we aim to train our youths to participate in this sector, adding value to our local mineral resources.”
Dr. Obed also addressed infrastructure concerns: “I’ve installed over six hand pumps and solar boreholes across various wards. On the power issue, it’s unrealistic to expect an individual to solve this nationwide problem. However, I’ve proposed a motion to connect Shongom L.G.A to the National Grid via the Billiri sub-station.”
“We’re making efforts where necessary, but fixing long-standing issues like power cannot be resolved in one year,” he concluded.
