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BACKLASH AS BENUE GOVERNOR GIFTS BRANDED WHEELBARROWS TO WOMEN
Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State is facing public criticism for distributing branded wheelbarrows to women as part of a recent empowerment programme under the banner Hyacinth Cares.
The initiative, launched last week, aimed to support women in agriculture and small-scale trading by providing sturdy steel-framed wheelbarrows with 100-litre capacity.
It was gathered that the initiatives is intended to assist rural women in transporting farm produce, especially in areas where insecurity has disrupted normal farming activities.
However, the gesture has triggered a public outcry both online and within local communities.
While some supporters say the initiative offers practical support to struggling women in rural areas, many critics have lambasted the scheme as tone-deaf and emblematic of a larger failure to address systemic poverty.
The programme has also drawn uncomfortable comparisons to a similar controversy in 2017, when former Governor Samuel Ortom faced backlash for distributing branded wheelbarrows in a purported empowerment effort.
However, critics at the time decried the move as performative and out of touch with the economic realities facing Benue citizens.
“This is history repeating itself,” said civil society advocate. “Our leaders must stop mistaking symbolism for real development. Women in Benue need security, access to markets, capital—not wheelbarrows.”
Despite the backlash, the state government has defended the initiative, stating that it forms part of a broader rural support strategy targeting women and youth affected by conflict and displacement.
Meanwhile, in a statement released on July 21, 2025, by Comrade Ngorngor Talento, Media and Publicity Aide to the ALGOVC Chairman, it was disclosed that Deputy Chairman Janet Hembafan Orukuna distributed farm inputs under the Renewed Hope Initiative.
He stated that the intervention is part of the Renewed Hope Initiative, a nationwide agricultural support programme championed by the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
The statement read, “The Deputy Chairman of Vandeikya Local Government and Algovc Chairman Benue State Chapter, Rt. Hon. Janet Hembafan Orukuna, has successfully distributed farm inputs to beneficiaries in the local government area.
“The intervention is part of the Renewed Hope Initiative, a nationwide agricultural support programme championed by the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
“The distribution took place at the Vandeikya Local Government Secretariat, where the Deputy Chairman emphasized the importance of agriculture in rural development and food security. She applauded the First Lady’s visionary leadership and expressed her commitment to ensuring that the initiative reaches the grassroots.
