Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
The coordinator, City Boy Movement (CBM), Edo State, Paddy Iyamu, has explained the reason for vacant seats at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin, during the empowerment programme carried out by the group.
He said the act was planned to limit the entrance to 6000 persons having known that the facility has the capacity to host 14000 persons.
Iyamu said that the City Boy Movement having learnt of the incident that happened in Owerri that almost resulted to a stampede, decided to tread with caution to avoid similar situation.
Iyamu added that the purpose was that, those who have no business or shortlisted for the empowerment are not found at the stadium.
“The programme was for beneficiaries. You know, it was not a rally. If it was a rally and you say you are giving freebies, you know, the stadium will fill to capacity.
“You will not even be able to contain the people that are coming but this one, we wanted only beneficiaries to be in that stadium because when you know you are a beneficiary and you are going home with something, there will be no need for you to disrupt the programme.
“What happened in a Owerri was the fact that some persons felt that they were not going to get any empowerment.
“So instead, let me spoil, disrupt the programme so that I can grab one of the empowerment items there but we had to structure it, you know, in a way that if you are entering there, we had several police officers, members of the DSS and the Nigerian police manning the gates. So if you are not a beneficiary, you have no business coming to the stadium.
“So that’s why you saw that, you know, a 14,000 capacity stadium capacity with 6,000 people, of course, it won’t be filled”, Iyamu said.
The Edo State coordinator of the movement who distributed the items to the beneficiaries in Benin, commended President Bola Tinubu for putting smiles on the faces of Nigerians.
“The president and our patron, Bola Tinubu, made the commitment and today, this is the implementation of the promise that was made.
“So this is practical representation and we are not just giving palliatives and handouts.
“This is the real economic empowerment. People are going home with laptops, you know, for their businesses.
“People are going home with Keke Nape that can earn them daily pay, you know.
“People are going home with buses that can also give them daily pay and from there, they can also build on it. But from one bus, they can have two buses, three buses, as it were, as the case may be.
“People are going home with sewing machines, you know. This is real economic empowerment and not just palliatives”, Iyamu added.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Abuya Bose, who was given a Deep Freezer also expressed her joy and commended the City Boy Movement for gifting her the item.
Another beneficiary, Mrs. Ehimetalor Theresa who was given a mini bus, thanked the organizers for picking her as one of those who benefited from the gesture.
