The Delta State Government’s grassroots empowerment initiative, designed to strengthen petty businesses and support vulnerable households across the state, is gaining momentum in Aniocha North Local Government Area, where more than 1,300 residents have so far benefited from the programme.
The initiative, being implemented through Vice Chairmen and Councillors, is targeted particularly at people operating small-scale businesses and household economic activities, including petty traders, farmers, tomato and pepper sellers, garri and rice sellers, as well as other low-income residents in communities and remote villages.
The programme is part of the economic empowerment measures of the administration of Governor Sheriff Francis Oborevwori, with the State Government saying the broader initiative is intended to increase purchasing power and help nano and small businesses survive and expand.
In Aniocha North, the programme commenced on Thursday, September 10, 2026, with the Vice Chairman, Hon. Nneka Clara Dibie’s Empowerment Programme held at the Comrade Collins Ogwugwua NULGE Event Centre, within the premises of the Local Government Council Secretariat, Issele-Uku.
The event, coordinated by the Executive Chairman of Aniocha North Local Government, Hon. Emmanuel Bazim Chinye, saw more than 300 residents receive ₦50,000 each as direct support for their businesses and household needs.
The event attracted the former Minority Leader of the House of Representatives and APC candidate for Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency in the 2027 general election; Rt. Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, OON, APC Chairman in Aniocha North; Sir Mathew Chinye, members of the State Executive Council and Honourable Commissioners from Aniocha North, former Local Government Chairmen, the APC candidates for the two State House of Assembly constituencies in the area, as well as other party leaders and stakeholders.
Speaking at the programme, Rt. Hon. Elumelu, Hon. Chinye, Hon. Nneka Dibie, Sir Mathew Chinye, Prince Idabor, Dr. Osuoze, Dr. Odigie, Engr. Fidel Onwodi and Dr. Alex Awunor congratulated the beneficiaries and urged them to put the money to productive use.
They appreciated the State Governor for the initiative, explaining that the intervention was specifically intended to provide modest but practical assistance to people whose livelihoods depend on daily economic activities, particularly market women selling tomatoes, pepper, rice and garri, farmers and petty traders, while also helping beneficiaries meet pressing household needs.
The speakers stressed that the value of the intervention should not be measured merely by the amount involved, but by the opportunity it creates for a petty trader or farmer to replenish stock, purchase farm inputs, sustain a small business or cushion household expenses.
They also urged the beneficiaries to continue supporting the Local, State and Federal Government administrations and the APC, while encouraging them to recognise the intervention as part of a broader grassroots approach to economic support.
The empowerment has subsequently moved into the wards.
On Monday, September 14, and Tuesday, September 15, officials of the Local Government Council, led by the Executive Chairman, Hon. Emmanuel Bazim Chinye, and APC leaders, led by Rt. Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, visited Ward 13, Ugbodu, and Ward 11, Ukwu-Nzu, where more than 400 residents were empowered through their Councillors, Hon. Okolie Ulebomi and Hon. Joel Chukwuka, respectively.
The exercise continued on Tuesday, September 15, with interventions in Ward 2 and Ward 15, Onicha-Ugbo, and Ward 4, Onicha-Uku, where more than 600 residents received ₦50,000 each through their Councillors, Hon. Ijeli Victor Okwechime, Hon. Francisca Nkem Iwegbu and Hon. Nkabu Chinyere Blessing, respectively.
The beneficiaries included petty traders, farmers, market women and households, with the organisers again emphasising that the assistance was intended to provide immediate economic relief and enable beneficiaries to strengthen their livelihoods.
The message across the various wards was consistent: beneficiaries should not dismiss the intervention because of the amount involved, but should deploy it wisely towards their businesses, farming activities and household needs, even as the need to support the ruling party, the APC, and the various levels of government was emphasised.
The Aniocha North Mega Empowerment Programme is designed to reach people who operate at the very base of the local economy, people whose businesses may consist of a small tray of tomatoes or pepper, a bag of garri or rice, a small farm plot, or petty trading activity that provides daily income for their families.
Rather than concentrating the intervention at the Local Government headquarters, the programme is being taken directly into the wards through Councillors, bringing the support closer to the people in their respective communities.
This approach is consistent with the State Government’s stated objective of ensuring that its economic interventions are felt by low-income earners and operators of nano and small businesses at the grassroots.
In Aniocha North, the target is significantly larger than the number already reached.
The Local Government’s Mega Empowerment Programme is expected to benefit more than 5,000 residents across the 20 wards before its completion.
The next phase is scheduled for Monday, September 21, when the exercise will move to Ezi Ward 10, Onicha-Olona Ward 5 and Ward 17, continuing the ward-by-ward distribution of the intervention.
The organisers have described the intervention as an unconditional economic support programme, with no repayment requirement or other strings attached to the assistance being given to beneficiaries.
The objective, according to the explanation given to beneficiaries, is straightforward: to put money directly into the hands of people who need modest capital to sustain small businesses, farming activities and household livelihoods.
Against this background, beneficiaries and residents have been urged to disregard negative insinuations about the programme and instead focus on its practical economic purpose.
The intervention comes at a time when the Delta State Government says its economic reforms and empowerment initiatives are geared towards strengthening purchasing power, stimulating grassroots economic activity and supporting small businesses.
For Aniocha North, the unfolding exercise therefore represents a ward-level approach to grassroots economic intervention, with the Local Government Executive Chairman, Vice Chairman and Councillors taking responsibility for ensuring that the support gets to residents within their respective communities.
As the programme moves into more wards, its stated goal remains clear: to reach more than 5,000 people across Aniocha North with direct financial support that can help sustain petty businesses, farming activities and household livelihoods.
The initiative has consequently become one of the major grassroots empowerment programmes being implemented across Aniocha North, bringing the State Government’s economic intervention directly to traders, farmers, market women and households in the communities.
C. U. Ugbolue
