A poverty alleviation outreach organized by the transition committee Chairman of Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, Chinwe Ugwu, has received wide condemnation from the general public.
Ugwu, in the programme put together in conjunction with National Council of Enugu State Students, NACESS, had distributed wheelbarrows to the youths of the local government as a way to alleviate poverty, generating public outcry in the process.
Vanguard reports that some of the persons who reacted negatively to the programme said that the chairman had achieved the opposite of what she planned by giving wheelbarrows to youths as a means of livelihood, adding that she has perpetuated poverty in the lives of the recipients.
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Many respondents who spoke with Vanguard described the act as insensitive and condemnable. While describing the act as shameful, a resident of Nsukka, Michael Okafor, said the act depicts the level of the insensitivity of our leaders towards the welfare of the masses.
Okafor added that there are other better empowerment programmes that would guarantee a secured future for the youths than pushing a wheelbarrow to earn a living.
Another youth ambassador, Chijinkem Ugwuanyi, said the programme is ridiculous and an affront on sons and daughters of Nsukka Local Government.
Ugwuanyi, who was visibly angry while reacting to the development rhetorically asked: “How much is a wheelbarrow compared to the monthly allocation you are getting madam?” He further added that the most annoying aspect of the programme is that the wheelbarrows were given to the youths on hired purchase.
