Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, representing Cross River South Senatorial District and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission, distributed 150 minibuses and 200 keke napep to constituents in Calabar on Saturday. The distribution, part of an empowerment programme, also included cash gifts of N100,000 to beneficiaries. Ekpenyong said the initiative was designed to support the economic well-being of residents and complement the development efforts of President Bola Tinubu and Governor Bassey Otu.
He urged recipients not to sell the capital items, warning that doing so would result in only a one-time gain. "Do not kill the goose that lays the golden egg," Ekpenyong said, stressing the importance of maintaining the vehicles for long-term family sustenance. He pledged to sustain the empowerment programme and called on residents to continue supporting the Tinubu administration.
Barrister Linda Okara, Director of Commercial and Industrialisation at the NDDC, confirmed the distribution figures and described the exercise as a collaboration with Senator Ekpenyong. She said beneficiary selection was conducted at the grassroots level to ensure inclusivity and prevent imposition. Daniel Ajunwa, NDDC State Director in Cross River, stated the intervention aims to engage youths, reduce unemployment, and curb criminality.
Arit Nyong, speaking for the beneficiaries, expressed gratitude to Ekpenyong for fulfilling his campaign promises. She said the support would promote self-reliance and transform lives.
Ekpenyong urges beneficiaries not to sell the minibuses and tricycles while framing the giveaway as economic empowerment. The same assets he warns against selling are the only tangible form of wealth transfer in the programme. If the goal is sustainable self-reliance, then treating capital equipment as untouchable contradicts basic enterprise principles. For now, the promise of transformation rests on ownership without liquidation.
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