By George Ozalla
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has empowered 1,000 constituents in Zaria Federal Constituency of Kaduna State with business start-up equipment and N100,000 seed capital each.
Abbas disclosed this on Saturday while addressing constituents during the distribution of household and micro-enterprise support equipment and seed capital to the beneficiaries.
According to a statement signed by Musa Abdullahi Krishi, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the beneficiaries received Point-of-Sale (POS) machines, tables, chairs and umbrellas, as well as N100,000 each as seed capital.
The Speaker said the intervention was aimed at supporting small businesses and improving the economic wellbeing of constituents, stressing that leadership should be measured by its impact on the lives of the people.
“My dear people, leadership is not measured by noise. It is measured by the lives it lifts. Today, 1,000 families will go home with tools, with capital, and with dignity. That is the politics I believe in. That is the covenant between Zaria and her representatives. By the grace of God, we shall keep renewing it. Project after project. Year after year,” he said.
Abbas explained that the choice of POS machines, tables, chairs and umbrellas was deliberate, given the role of small businesses in providing services, creating employment and supporting household incomes.
He said, “Some may ask: why POS machines? Why tables, chairs, and umbrellas? The answer is simple. Small businesses are the engine of Nigeria’s economy. They produce almost half of our national wealth. They provide most of our jobs.”
The Speaker urged the beneficiaries to regard the N100,000 as seed capital and not money for immediate consumption, charging them to protect the equipment, maintain proper records and reinvest in their businesses.
“To the 1,000 beneficiaries, I have a charge for you. The N100,000 in your hands is seed money, not spending money. Plant it. A seed eaten today is a harvest lost tomorrow. But a seed planted in Zaria soil always grows. So guard your equipment. Keep honest records. Let your small table grow into a shop. Let your shop grow into a business. Let your business employ others,” Abbas said.
He said the latest empowerment programme was part of several interventions undertaken in the constituency, including direct financial support, agricultural assistance, education projects and healthcare infrastructure.
According to the Speaker, 2,400 constituents had previously received direct financial support to trade and expand their businesses, while farmers and youths had received tractors, fertilisers, tricycles and motorcycles.
He added that more than 110 primary schools and 40 secondary schools had been renovated, while WAEC, NECO and JAMB fees were being paid annually for thousands of students.
Abbas also disclosed that his N5 billion scholarship scheme had reached about 30,000 students, while an N80 billion Education City had been attracted to Zaria, bringing four new tertiary institutions to the ancient city.
He further cited the construction of a 100-bed specialist hospital and new primary healthcare centres among the projects undertaken in the constituency.
“Only last November, we broke ground on six new projects at once, including a Women’s Development Centre and a new College of Agriculture. My people, none of this fell from the sky. It came through your mandate. Today’s one thousand beneficiaries now join that story,” he said.
The Speaker thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for what he described as efforts to rebuild the Nigerian economy and commended Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, for his administration’s performance.
Abbas said the developments in Zaria reflected what he described as the impact of the Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda on ordinary Nigerians, citing student loans, new credit schemes, the new minimum wage and tax reforms.
“This work in Zaria mirrors what is happening across Nigeria. President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda is reaching ordinary homes. Student loans are keeping the children of the poor in school. A new credit scheme is opening loans to ordinary workers. There is a new minimum wage. The new tax laws protect small businesses like the ones born here today,” he said.
Abbas also appealed to constituents in Zaria, Kaduna State and the North to support the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections, citing the establishment of the North West Development Commission, the AKK gas pipeline project, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road reconstruction and railway operations among the reasons for his position.
He also pointed to the APC administration in Kaduna State and his position as Speaker of the House of Representatives as factors that had helped attract development projects to Zaria.
“Now let me speak to you plainly, as your son. Why should Zaria vote APC? Why should Kaduna? Why should the North? I will give you plain reasons. It is this APC government that created the North West Development Commission to rebuild our region,” he said.
He urged the constituents to vote for the APC at all levels in 2027, saying continued political support would help sustain development projects in the constituency.
“So, I will say it clearly: If you want these interventions to continue, vote APC. Vote APC from top to bottom. Vote APC for President. Vote APC for Governor. Vote APC for the Senate and for the House. Vote APC for the State Assembly and for your councils,” Abbas said.
