After coming to the aid of his constituency through the provision of food and monetary palliatives to the vulnerable and needy in his Constituency, the member representing Abua/Odual in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Honourable Sokolo Solomon, says his target is to empower members of his Constituency with skills that would see them through the post COVID-19 hardship and beyond.
Honourable, Solomon, who made this known in an interview with the newsmen in his office, said the reason of his focus beyond the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, to after the virus is based on the realisation that society is more likely to experience one of the worst economic hardships after the pandemic.
Consequently, he has two key empowerment projects for members of his constituency, particularly for the less privileged and vulnerable.
The first is the setting up of cooperative societies in the Local Government “with a Board of Trustee that will supervise” them.
Towards this, he said, modalities are being put in place to introduce the people, who are mostly farmers, into mechanised farming.
“I, as part of my constituency projects, am in charge of tractors, which we will give to them (farmers) to manage, so that they can be introduced to mechanised farming. I’ve even started negotiations with the producers of the machinery”, he said.
The second is the establishment of a general skills acquisition project, saying that, “Immediately the lockdown eases off, I’ll travel and meet them for the skills acquisition. I have already gotten a place.
“I have already started thinking ahead, and part of what I submitted as my constituency projects are all geared towards empowerment”, he said, noting that he has secured a location where to site an all round skills acquisition establishment.
“The nature of my skills acquisition is that I want to see how Abua/Odual LGA will be the hub of tailoring in Rivers State, and I’m seeing my catchment areas as Bayelsa, Emohua, Ahoada, Degema, Abonnema, etc.”, he explained.
To achieve this, he stated that, “I intend getting machines and very good tailors. They’ll come in, I’ll give them everything: space etc. They will come and train people innAbua/Odual on tailoring.
“We already have somebody who’s willing to teach our people plumbing for free, and be part of the skill acquisition centre.
“The idea is that the people will learn such basics skills of plumbing, welding, electricals, etc in the centre, which will be self-financing. The only thing is that I’ll provide the structure and equipment. The resource persons will be resident in the centre”, he said.
