My Dear Igala/Bassa People,
Behind every thriving community are skilled hands and creative minds. Our tailors, welders, carpenters, mechanics, electricians, bricklayers, fashion designers, hairdressers, furniture makers and other artisans contribute significantly to our local economy. They turn skills into services, create employment, support families and provide essential services that keep our communities running.
Yet, many of our artisans in Kogi East remain trapped in small scale operations, not because they lack talent or the willingness to work, but because they lack access to affordable finance, modern equipment, adequate training, reliable electricity, organised markets and opportunities to grow their businesses.
This must change.
I believe that the hands that build our homes, repair our vehicles, make our clothes and provide essential services deserve more than praise. They deserve opportunities to prosper. Our artisans should not remain at the margins of economic development when their skills can drive job creation, reduce poverty and strengthen our local economy.
As your Senator, I will advocate policies and legislative interventions that expand access to affordable financing, vocational training, modern tools and equipment, business development support and market opportunities for artisans across Kogi East. I will promote greater access to relevant government enterprise programmes and advocate transparent procurement processes that create fair opportunities for qualified local artisans and small businesses.
I will also use my legislative responsibilities to scrutinise relevant budgets, support policies that strengthen vocational and technical education, and exercise oversight to ensure that programmes designed to empower skilled workers reach the people for whom they are intended.
Our young people should see craftsmanship as a viable path to dignity, independence and prosperity. Our experienced artisans should have opportunities to modernise their trades, expand their businesses, train apprentices and employ more people. By supporting artisans, we are not merely helping individuals; we are investing in families, communities and the productive capacity of Kogi East.
My commitment is clear: to champion an economy where skills are valued, enterprise is supported and hard work creates opportunities for sustainable livelihoods.
Because economic opportunity must not be reserved for a privileged few. It must reach the skilled hands, determined minds and hardworking people who form the backbone of our communities.
QS Aminu Abubakar Suleiman, FNIQS
The People’s Mandate: Purposeful Representation. Strategic Legislation. Sustainable Development.
#ThePeoplesMandate #PillarTwo #InclusiveEconomicOpportunity #EmpoweringArtisans #QSClockIt #KogiEastDeservesHerOwnSenate
