Senators and Race for Mega Empowerments

10th National Assembly lawmakers especially Senators appear to be changing the optics and dynamics with mega empowerments of their constituents in recent times. Folalumi Alaran reports.

While the major function of the legislative arm is to make laws and perform oversight functions, the urgent need to solve socio-economic problems in the society has increased the burden on the shoulders of the lawmakers, both at the state and the federal level.

It was against this background that the lawmakers of the 10th Senate, in a bid to re-invent the will and put smiles on the faces of the constituents, decided to change the narrative.

Incidentally, the decision of the lawmakers to attract dividends of democracy to their people has created a healthy rivalry among the federal lawmakers who are constantly in the race to outdo one another in various empowerment programmes for their people.

From Ogun West to Kwara Central,  Akwa Ibom to Ekiti, Senators are no longer engaging their constituents with token gestures. Instead, the age of constituency capitalism, an era of large-scale, high-impact distribution of resources, appears fully on ground

Age of Super mega Empowerment

The empowerment of tsunami that is ravaging the 10th Senate was first ignited by Senator Olamilekan Adeola (Yayi) of Ogun West, who staged what many now consider the blueprint of modern-day constituency empowerment.

Yayi, who is also the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations,  dazzled observers and constituents alike with a massive rollout of empowerment items: vehicles, equipment, grants, and tools worth billions of Naira.

Over 5,500 market men and women received cash grants to scale up their businesses. The sheer scale of the event left tongues wagging, and colleagues watching.

Yayi is believed to be eyeing the governorship seat of Ogun State in the 2027 elections.

Not long after, the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, responded in kind, in what many perceived as a symbolic reinforcement of his grip on the Senate.

In his home state of Akwa Ibom, Akpabio distributed vehicles, motorcycles, and tools also reportedly worth billions.

Perhaps the most disruptive entry into the league of empowerment juggernauts came from the North Central — Senator Saliu Mustapha, representing Kwara Central.

His programme, named Alubarika 1.0: Renewed Hope Empowerment, benefitted over 7,000 constituents. Items ranging from tractors, space buses, transformers, rice milling machines, cassava processing machines, tricycles, sewing machines were  distributed free to beneficiaries.

Mustapha also announced cash grants for over 1000 constituents. He told journalists that the items were distributed to complement the strides of President Bola Tinubu in the agriculture sector.

Political watchers in Kwara State say the impact “shook the state to its dry foundation.” For weeks after the programme, it became the talking point almost across the country.

According to a development expert based in Ilorin, Yinka Owoeye: “Senator Mustapha is not just spending money, he is building a movement, his empowerment strategy fuses legacy, empathy, and ambition. It is carefully curated to reflect his place in the politics of tomorrow.”

Earlier in February, 2025, Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin empowered APC grassroots leaders in Kano State with 61 cars and 1,137 motorcycles.

The event saw beneficiaries drawn from all the 44 local government areas and 484 wards, with APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje in attendance.

The gesture aimed to boost mobility and strengthen party structures across the state.

Barau also revealed plans to expand the initiative, including providing ₦5 million business loans to unemployed graduates.

He emphasised that future phases would target women, teachers, and other vulnerable groups, describing the programme as part of his broader vision for inclusive empowerment and sustainable development in Kano.

Constituency Projects or Constituency Politics?

Although Nigerian lawmakers have long distributed materials and funds in their respective cobstituebcies, what is unfolding now is unprecedented in both scale and optics. The question remains: are these mega empowerments a response to genuine grassroots needs, or simply high-budget tools of political consolidation?

To Joe Ifeanyi, of the Centre for Democratic Responsibility: “We must distinguish between empowerment for development and empowerment for dependency. When items are given without a long-term economic plan, they become breadcrumbs, not change.”

Still, many argue that in an economy choking on inflation and dwindling federal allocations, such interventions are more necessary than ever.

“You can call it politics, but at the end of the day, someone’s child got a scholarship, a farmer got a sprayer, a widow got seed capital. Let’s not overthink mercy”, said Mallam Saka Babatunde, a community leader in Ilorin South LGA of Kwara state.

A New Arms Race?

There is now an unspoken competition among Senators. The buzz on social media after each programme fuels expectations in other constituencies. Some worry that the chase for who did it bigger may distort legislative focus and promote short-term populism.

“Legislation is now playing second fiddle to logistics,” observed Prof. Adebanjo Thomas, a political economist at the University of Lagos.

“The Senate risks becoming an events-planning chamber if we don’t check this optics-driven culture. The real work is lawmaking, not giveaways.”

Others welcome the development, saying it forces lawmakers to justify their mandate.

“This is good for democracy,” counters Halima Zubair, an activist in Kaduna. “For once, elected officials are in fierce competition to serve the people. That is how it should be.”

What Next?

As the 10th Senate marches on, the age of mega empowerment may well define its legacy. The optics are powerful. The politics are evolving. But the stakes are also rising. Will these programmes translate into measurable development? Will they outlive the election cycle that often fuels them? Will they democratise access or entrench new power monopolies? Only time, and perhaps the 2027 general elections, will tell.