Days After Sharing Plates of Cooked Rice
According to information available, each beneficiary received between 10 and 20 stems of cassava, reportedly intended to support subsistence farming and boost agricultural productivity.
The lawmaker representing Calabar and Odukpani Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Mr. Bassey Akiba, has come under intense public criticism following an empowerment exercise in which he distributed cassava stems to constituents, an action many residents have described as tokenistic and insulting.
On Friday, the federal lawmaker visited Okoyong community in Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River State, a suburb that adjoins Calabar, where he distributed cassava stems to some selected members of his constituency.
According to information available, each beneficiary received between 10 and 20 stems of cassava, reportedly intended to support subsistence farming and boost agricultural productivity.
While the lawmaker’s team described the exercise as part of efforts to empower constituents and encourage grassroots agriculture, the initiative has instead sparked widespread outrage, ridicule, and disappointment across the constituency. Many residents argue that the gesture reflects a disconnect between elected officials and the harsh economic realities faced by the people.
The controversy comes just days after Mr. Akiba was reportedly criticized for sharing plates of cooked rice to constituents at a separate event, an incident that had already drawn public condemnation and social media backlash. For many constituents, the cassava stem distribution appeared to reinforce concerns that empowerment initiatives are being reduced to symbolic acts rather than meaningful interventions.
Speaking to journalists, Comrade Ikposa, a rights activist and resident of the constituency, dismissed the exercise as a mockery of the people. He alleged that the cassava stems and fertilizer distributed
President Tinubu approved this programme and released it to lawmakers early last year,” Ikposa said. “Unfortunately, these items were deliberately hoarded and are now being rolled out close to the election period as a campaign tool. This is not empowerment; it is political manipulation.”
Ikposa further argued that the timing of the distribution exposed what he described as the failure of lawmakers and local government authorities to genuinely complement federal efforts aimed at improving food security and rural livelihoods.
“The late delivery of these cassava stems clearly shows how our representatives have failed us,” he said. “This deliberate sabotage is one of the main reasons governance continues to fail at the grassroots level. Programmes meant to help farmers at the right time are withheld and later presented as personal generosity.”
Beyond questions of intent, concerns have also been raised about the practicality and agricultural value of the distributed cassava stems. According to several community members, the stems had been stored for too long and had begun to dry up, significantly reducing their chances of survival if planted.
Ikposa noted that cassava planting season had already passed, warning that the prevailing weather conditions were unsuitable. “This is not the right season for planting cassava,” he explained. “The sun is still too harsh, and any cassava stem planted now is unlikely to survive. Many of these stems have been in storage for over a year.”
Some beneficiaries themselves openly expressed dissatisfaction, albeit cautiously. One of the recipients, Mrs. Doris Affia, admitted that she accepted the cassava stems despite knowing they were inadequate for any meaningful farming activity.
“I was given ten stems,” she said. “How many heaps can one cultivate with that? It cannot even start a small farm. I just accepted them because if I refuse, it will look like I am embarrassing the lawmaker. And next time, if something comes up, I may not be listed to benefit.”
Her comments highlight a broader concern among constituents about political patronage and fear of exclusion, where beneficiaries feel compelled to accept inadequate assistance in order to remain visible within political structures.
Across the constituency, many residents questioned how a sitting member of the House of Representatives could consider such an exercise sufficient empowerment, particularly at a time when inflation, unemployment, and food insecurity continue to worsen living conditions.
However, not everyone shared the critical view. A supporter of the lawmaker, Mr. Hoe Ita, defended the initiative, arguing that the most important thing was that the representative had done something tangible.
“The bottom line is that he has done something,” Ita said. “People have been saying he has not done anything for the constituency. Now he has come out to do something, and people are still complaining.”
Despite such defenses, public sentiment appears largely unfavorable, with many constituents insisting that empowerment should go beyond symbolic gestures. They argue that genuine empowerment should involve access to improved seedlings in adequate quantities, farming inputs delivered on time, skills acquisition programmes, access to credit, scholarships, or infrastructure projects that have lasting impact.
Efforts to reach Mr. Bassey Akiba for comments on the controversy were unsuccessful, as calls placed to his phone were not answered as of the time of filing this report.