The Uyo local government vice chairman, Amb Ukai Udeme recently donated some items to the villagers of Uyo in the state of Akwa Ibom, which include bicycles, clothing and equipment for the tapping of palm wine.

Such youth empowerment items aroused indignation and concern among citizens who said that materials would add little or no value to the recipient’s life, while others argued that villagers had the means to dispose of them appropriate and necessary because they depend on traditional occupation for survival.

Last year, Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom was widely ridiculed and criticized after handing out wheelbarrows to young people.

According to a governor’s media assistant, the gesture is to make young people independent and working, instead of looking for white-collar jobs that do not exist.

To justify the wheelbarrow empowerment program, a government official said the governor had decided to take the initiative, as Benue is a state known for agriculture, and the governor decided to provide young people with wheelbarrows to help them transport their products from their farmland.