SENATOR Smart Adeyemi representing Kogi West Senatorial District of the state, recently in Iyara, Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State gave out cars and motorcycles to some members of his constituency. In this report, Yekini Jimoh takes a look at the activities of the senator.THE name Smart Adeyemi is a household one in Kogi politics. Today, Senator Adeyemi, representing Kogi West Senatorial District, is currently a leading politician from Kogi West and the state in general. Despite all odds, Senator Adeyemi defeated his opponents both at the primary and the election proper to get the ticket for a stint at the National Assembly. There is no doubt that his achievements in the last four years and his contributions to national and state issues at the Senate made him one of the best senators in the state and the country in general. Just recently, he empowered some people in his constituency as he distributed over 80 cars and 50 motorcycles to the beneficiaries of his Taxi Scheme. The first phase of the project was held in Kabba in 2010. At that ceremony, 20 motorcycles and 15 Nissan Sunny cars were given out to beneficiaries of the scheme. Also, Senator Adeyemi gave 15 Pathfinder Jeeps to traditional rulers within the Senatorial District and 20 other cars to other individuals. According to him, the Taxi Scheme was a self-funded project with the aim that it would grow to become a revolving scheme that could fund itself, provided that the beneficiaries paid up their very subsidised dues under the scheme.Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, Senator Adeyemi said the programme was designed to alleviate poverty in the area and help in reducing unemployment specifically."I have just purchased about 65 taxi cabs and the essence is to give out these cabs to unemployed people and graduates to be able to manage the cab as a source of livelihood and pay back in installments. I want to inform you for the first time that the vehicles cost me N600,000 each at the point of purchase, apart from the cost of painting and registering the cabs. When you put everything together, each of the vehicle will be about N650,000. But I'm giving the vehicles out at the cost of N450,000. I believe with that discount, payment will not be difficult. If they make the payment as of when due, we will be able to make it a revolving scheme."He further hinted that he would shoulder the responsibility of paying the remaining balance on each vehicle.Apart from the mass transit, he has paid for medical equipment worth over $200,000 due to arrive in the country before the end of next month. He said the equipment comprises hospital beds, medical testing equipment, crutches, drugs, injections, laboratory equipment, X-ray machines and other equipment for the theatre.His words: "The equipment will be coming in three batches in container from Atlanta Georgia,USA. This is to tell you that we are going to have refrigerators, transformers and other equipment required to set up a modern hospital. The equipment should be able to take care of a minimum of 10- 15 hospitals or health centres and I have seven local governments in my senatorial district. Definitely, I want to see the possibility of equipping at least one hospital in each of the local government areas and that will be good enough. In fact, my foreign partners are coming to join me in the distribution of the equipment. Already, I have paid the sum of $200,000. They sold the equipment at very highly subsidised rate because they were convinced that I'm honest with them. That is why when we are distributing; they will be there to see that all the equipment they gave me are distributed for the purpose they are meant for. If I am to pay for the actual cost, I will pay almost $500,000. "Apart from that, I will be announcing the commissioning of 100 lock up shops at the market at Iyara. We have started roofing them and soon, I will be inviting some people to join me in welcoming one of the Americans who will be bringing other investors for Omi dam and Koto Karfe axis, engage in modern mechanised agriculture."With these people coming, we are proposing that they should be able to invest about N2 to N3 billion in agriculture so that we can have a full mechanised agriculture at Omi dam and in Koto Karfe. "We intend to go into livestocks, rice plantation, some other products which will enable us to employ people. Already, we have a ready made market in Abuja and Lagos, believing that the roads will be good so that we can employ more people."Senator Adeyemi also assured the people of his constituency that other projects were in the pipeline to prove a point to Nigerians that not all politicians would just want people to vote for them and go to sleep. "My essence of coming to politics is to change the lives of the people of my senatorial district. What I am doing here is to tell them that I have not stolen their mandate, I will continue to work for them and promise to do better than what I did during the first term."Again, we have a partnership with the National Biotechnology Centre,Abuja, where we will be teaching modern approach to crop plantation and biotechnology. This can lead to production of diesel or fuel; we have acquired land in Iyara, Iyamoye and Kabba. These projects will be using Lokoja-Koto axis for rice plantation. These are some of the things I am working on to eradicate poverty and this is the reason I have not been able to come since after the election, because coming home is not the issue, but how to empower my people and allow them to see life from different perspective. "And I'm happy that the governor is appreciating us for what we have been doing and that's why he is on his way to participate in what we are doing today. I have explained to the governor about all the projects I'm working on as away of helping the state government or augmenting the efforts of the state government towards improving the well being of the people of the state," Adeyemi said.At the commissioning, the state governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, commended Senator Adeyemi for his initiative. He said that he was pleased with the senator for embarking on such projects adding that his administration would continue to assist the senator to develop the constituency.
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