2025/2026 Yuletide: The Chronicles of Leke Abejide
By J.O. Abel-Ontop
As the yuletide season of 2025/2026 unfolded across Nigeria, Yagba Federal Constituency experienced a remarkable blend of humanitarian outreach, community safety initiatives, and infrastructure transformation — all under the leadership of Hon. Leke Joseph Abejide, the federal lawmaker representing Yagba East, Yagba West and Mopamuro. The breadth of his activities this period reveals more than festive generosity; it reflects strategic investments in human welfare and lasting development.
1. A ₦1 Billion Yuletide Humanitarian Outreach
In a powerful demonstration of social empathy, Hon. Abejide rolled out an extensive ₦1 billion palliative distribution programme across all 34 wards of the constituency. The initiative offered vital relief to widows and vulnerable residents during the holiday season, with food staples and essential items such as:
24,000 bags of rice,
10,000 packs of garri,
10,000 pieces of local fabric for widows,
Salt, sugar, and noodles.
This intervention addresses acute economic hardship in households often hardest hit by inflation and supply-chain disruptions, ensuring that community members could celebrate the festivities with dignity and sufficient sustenance. Moreover, Abejide expanded his earlier pledge for community uplift by committing an enhanced ₦10 million each to the 71 autonomous communities in the constituency, a total investment of ₦710 million targeted at grassroots development projects by 2026.
2. Launching of Lion Squad
Amid growing concerns about insecurity — especially banditry and kidnapping in rural areas — Hon. Abejide launched a decisive security initiative known as “Operation No Mercy for Terrorists.” Central to this programme was the activation of a dedicated tactical unit dubbed the Lion Squad, equipped and tasked to support conventional security agencies in restoring peace across Yagbaland. The operation was bolstered by 30 operational motorcycles and three security vans to improve patrol coverage, rapid response, and visible deterrence in vulnerable communities.
This community-linked security response is designed to reassure residents, protect lives and property, and enable safe movement — essential foundations for economic activity, school attendance, agricultural work, and day-to-day livelihood. By engaging a locally anchored task force, Abejide helped bridge gaps in formal security provision and reinforce community confidence.
3. Socio-Economic Empowerment and Development Support
Beyond humanitarian palliatives and security, Hon. Abejide’s leadership profile includes a suite of empowerment and developmental interventions:
Non-interest micro-loans to women and cooperative groups, stimulating grassroots entrepreneurship and financial inclusion.
Sustained payment of WAEC fees for secondary school students, reducing barriers to education.
Donations of working tools and agricultural inputs to artisans and farmers alike.
These initiatives not only address immediate needs but also strengthen the productive capacity of households and local enterprises, creating conditions for enhanced self-reliance and future opportunity.
4. Civic Engagement, Recognition, and Institutional Partnerships
Hon. Abejide’s work has attracted broad support from community stakeholders and traditional institutions alike. His efforts to deepen collaboration with civic leaders and local councils have furthered responsiveness to grassroots priorities. Local stakeholders have commended his balanced constituency development approach and encouraged strengthened alliances to amplify Yagba’s voice at the national level.
5. Flag-Off and Construction of Some Major Roads
Perhaps the most enduring legacy of Hon. Abejide’s 2025/2026 interventions lies in strategic infrastructure development, particularly road construction, a crucial catalyst for economic growth.
In February 2025, he performed the groundbreaking of a 57.2-kilometre asphalt road from Igbagun to Ijowa-Isanlu in Yagba East, a federal project integrated into the 2025 budget at ₦60 billion. When completed, this road will pass through and connect more than 10 communities, unlocking new economic pathways and improving access to markets, schools, and health facilities for countless residents.
In addition, Abejide has flagged off or supported the construction and rehabilitation of numerous other roads, including:
Isanlu Town Hall access road and Kajola–Obada market road, which have been completed and opened for public use — enhancing intra-town mobility and commerce.
Upgrades to Odo Ere–Igbaruku–Omi-Odo Ara–Ogga–Ogbom, Ogbe–Egbe, and Egbe–Okoloke–Isanlu Esa-Okunran roads — planned to extend connectivity across Yagba West and Mopamuro.
The commissioning and rehabilitation of local roads such as Ejuku, Makutu, Irunda-Ile, Odo-Amu, and Alu–Igboero, marking tangible dividends of governance in often neglected rural corridors.
The emphasis on road infrastructure tackles long-standing transport deficits that have historically constrained movement, stalled commerce, and isolated farming communities particularly during rainy seasons when many routes became impassable. Improved roads will drive market expansion, lower transportation costs, enhance farm-to-market linkages, and attract socio-economic investment into the region.
The 2025/2026 yuletide in Yagba Federal Constituency was not merely a seasonal spectacle but a season of lasting substance, rooted in humanitarian outreach, community protection, and transformative infrastructure. Under the stewardship of Hon. Leke Abejide, Yagba is charting a course toward resilience, opportunity, and shared prosperity.
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER, JANUARY 12TH 2026)
