Senator Solomon Adeola Olamilekan said his decision to empower thousands of market men, market women and farmers across Ogun State with about N1.5 billion in grants and agricultural support was aimed at cushioning the effects of economic hardship, strengthening small businesses and complementing the economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking on Friday at the fifth edition of the Market Women/Men Support Fund Empowerment Programme held at Asade Agunloye Pavilion in Ilaro, Yewa South Local Government Area, the senator said the intervention was designed to provide direct financial relief to vulnerable traders and farmers while stimulating grassroots economic growth across the state.
Adeola, who represents Ogun West Senatorial District and chairs the Senate Committee on Appropriations, said the empowerment programme, which has been held across the three senatorial districts of Ogun State, fulfilled promises he made to his constituents during the 2023 electioneering campaign.
According to him, the initiative has now expanded beyond Ogun West to benefit residents across the state following sustained requests from traders in Ogun Central and Ogun East.
The lawmaker explained that the programme was conceived after observing the severe financial constraints confronting market operators, particularly limited cash flow needed to sustain and expand their businesses.
He recalled that during the 2023 campaign, many traders depended largely on government interventions such as the Ogun State Government’s “Oko Owo Dapo” initiative and the Federal Government’s Trader Monie scheme, stressing that his own intervention was introduced to ensure traders were not left at the mercy of loan sharks.
Adeola said the current fifth edition is being implemented in partnership with the National Productivity Centre as a micro-financing initiative aligned with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He emphasized that unlike conventional credit schemes, the intervention is a grant and not a loan, adding that 4,000 market men and women from Ogun West alone would receive N75,000 each to strengthen their businesses.
“My vision is to complement the economic reforms of Mr. President, propel our economy on the path of steady and sustainable growth and cushion the effects of the economic downturn on vulnerable persons and businesses.
“This is not a loan but a grant to bring succour to a critical sector of our people and thereby stimulate economic growth.”
The senator disclosed that beyond direct cash grants to traders, he had also facilitated extensive support for farmers and rural communities through agricultural empowerment programmes involving tractors, seedlings, fertilizers, farm inputs and startup grants, bringing the cumulative value of his interventions for traders and farmers across Ogun State to approximately N1.5 billion.
He also highlighted investments in market infrastructure to improve the business environment, revealing that he had facilitated the construction of 43 modern markets and related projects within the last three and a half years.
He noted that Ogun West, had benefited significantly with the construction of lock-up shops and open stalls in markets across Ado-Odo/Ota, Ipokia, Yewa North, Yewa South and Imeko-Afon local government areas.
Adeola further listed the installation of 10 solar-powered boreholes in major markets as well as solar-powered street lights across 20 markets to improve access to water, enhance security and extend trading hours.
According to him, the projects were intended to create a more conducive environment for commercial activities and increase productivity among traders.
The senator stressed that beneficiaries of all his empowerment programmes were selected without political consideration or personal connections, insisting that there was no favouritism in the process.
He urged recipients to invest the grants strictly in their businesses to expand their enterprises, improve profitability and raise their standard of living.
Adeola assured traders who were not captured in the current phase that future editions of the programme would accommodate more beneficiaries, expressing confidence that the initiative would continue after the 2027 governorship election.
He said the Market Women/Men Support Fund, popularly known as “Oloja Yayi,” would remain a major pillar of his administration’s economic empowerment agenda aimed at improving livelihoods and sustaining grassroots economic development across Ogun State.
THE ENCOUNTER NEWS reports that 2,557 farmers in Ogun State were on Tuesday empowered with farm equipment and seedlings with N100,000 grants, while 3,000 market men and women in Ogun Central Senatorial District received the sum of N75,000 each as grants on Wednesday.
On Thursday, an additional 3,000 traders were empowered with N75,000 each, while the grand finale of the grants distribution was held on Friday in Ilaro for Ogun West with 4,000 beneficiaries going home with N75,000 each.
In her keynote address, the wife of the Senator, Mrs. Temitope Adeola urged the traders to invest the grants for the purpose it was set up for.
She said the scheme was not to canvass for votes, but to ameliorate the suffering of the traders and remove bottlenecks from accessing the microcredit loan from banks.
