Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
An All Progressives Congress chieftain and content creator in Kebbi State, Adam Fakai, has provided N20 million in direct financial support to 1,000 vulnerable residents, with each beneficiary receiving N20,000 to support small businesses, household needs and other livelihood activities.
The empowerment programme, implemented through the Adam Fakai Foundation, was held at Mahuta Model Primary School in Fakai Local Government Area on Monday, September 28, 2026. Beneficiaries included widows, widowers, farmers, artisans, homeless people, persons with disabilities, women seeking assistance to expand their businesses, orphans and other vulnerable members of the community. Fakai, who is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the foundation, said the intervention was part of his commitment to supporting vulnerable people at the grassroots and helping households improve their livelihoods. "We understand that many people at the grassroots need support to start or strengthen something that can sustain their families. This intervention is one of the ways we can contribute directly to the wellbeing of our people," he said. "We want the beneficiaries to use this support productively and see it as a step towards improving their livelihoods."
The distribution drew commendation from beneficiaries across the local government area. Yahanasu Kabir, a widower from Garin Awwal, described the initiative as unique because it cut across age and gender, and commended Fakai for using his social media platforms to document government projects at both federal and state levels. "This is not politics; this is somebody who uses his money to touch lives and at the same time promote government programmes," Kabir said. "A lot of us will not know about some of the projects the government is doing, and to surprise you is that he uses his personal money and that is wonderful." Another beneficiary, Malam Bala Maigadi from Birnin Tudu, received N20,000 alongside three other members of his family who also received N20,000 each. Maigadi described the intervention as a moment of joy for his family, saying the financial support would help ease some of their immediate challenges.
Fakai disclosed that the Fakai Local Government exercise was only the first phase of a broader humanitarian programme being planned by the foundation, with preparations underway for a programme expected to reach vulnerable residents across all 21 local government areas of Kebbi State. "What we are doing in Fakai is not the end of the journey. We are looking at a broader humanitarian programme that will reach people across the 21 Local Government Areas of Kebbi State," he said. The initiative also reflects an emphasis on youth participation in community development, with Fakai's interventions seeking to demonstrate that young people can contribute actively to humanitarian support and grassroots development. The chairman of the foundation said its activities had expanded to include philanthropy and peace advocacy, particularly in Kebbi State, while also promoting awareness of government programmes and development initiatives.
The empowerment programme comes against the backdrop of a political controversy involving Fakai. In August 2026, Fakai publicly announced that he had stopped promoting the programmes and achievements of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration, citing what he described as a lack of recognition and support from leaders of the APC at both the state and federal levels. He said he had spent more than two years using his personal resources, time and energy to document Federal Government projects across the North and South, but had received no encouragement or appreciation from party leaders. He also claimed that some senior government officials had used photographs and videos he captured to promote government projects without ever contacting him directly. "It is unfortunate that some prominent figures at the federal level use the pictures and videos of government projects that I captured and shared, yet none has ever contacted me directly," he said at the time. He suggested that things might have been different if he had come from another state, and appealed to President Tinubu, whose "robust reward system is widely acknowledged," to carry him along in order to boost his morale and enable him contribute his quota towards the success of the administration's Renewed Hope Agenda.
The withdrawal of support generated significant public attention and raised questions about the treatment of grassroots supporters within the ruling party. Fakai's subsequent empowerment programme has been interpreted by some observers as a demonstration of his continued commitment to community development, independent of his political advocacy. The foundation's statement emphasised that the initiative was aimed at addressing some of the immediate needs of people within his community, and that the programme represented a shift from merely telling the stories of people in need to directly supporting some of them.
The empowerment initiative forms part of a broader pattern of philanthropic and community-focused activities by the Adam Fakai Foundation. For more than two years, Fakai has travelled to different parts of the country to document development projects and government programmes, particularly those of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. His approach has involved visiting project locations, taking photographs and videos, documenting the projects and sharing the material with his audience through social media. The initiative has consequently turned his digital platforms into channels for showcasing infrastructure and other government interventi likely too sketchy to ons outside the traditional media space. The foundation said it would continue to use its platforms to document development, amplify community concerns and mobilise support for people in need.
For the people of Fakai Local Government Area, the N20 million disbursement represents a tangible intervention in a region where many households continue to face economic hardship. The beneficiaries expressed gratitude for the gesture, with Aisha Kabir, Malam Bashar Bakanike and John Chikudi saying the financial assistance would help them address immediate needs and strengthen their respective livelihoods. The proposed expansion to all 21 local government areas of Kebbi State is expected to extend the reach of the foundation's intervention to a wider number of vulnerable residents. Whether the statewide programme materialises will depend on the foundation's capacity to sustain the momentum generated by the Fakai LGA exercise. For now, the beneficiaries in Fakai Local Government Area have received both material support and a measure of hope, and the foundation has signalled its intention to build on the initiative in the months ahead.
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