FG provides succour to the poorest in Oyo State, disburses N20,000 grant
The Federal Government through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development has disbursed the sum of twenty thousand naira to five thousand, two hundred and eighty poor households in Oyo State to cushion the effect of Covid-19 pandemic.
The grant which covers only the poor of poorest is targeted to help women particularly those in the rural areas to get minimal assets which can be used to lift their households from abject poverty.
Speaking at the flag off ceremony held at Oyo State Secretariat in Ibadan, her Excellency, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouk, Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development stated that the beneficiaries are to use the twenty thousand naira to increase their income, food security and improve their living standard.
She disclosed that the grant would be given to 150,000 women in rural areas across the 36 states adding that the Social Investment Programme (SIPs) which include the Conditional Cash Transfer; N-power programme; Home Grown School Feeding; Government Empowerment Entrepreneur Programme; Trader Money aim to improve household consumption, school enrolment and attendance, financial asset acquisition and generally help beneficiaries have a sustainable livelihood.
She further stated that a total of 13, 830 vulnerable households in 28 local Government Oyo State have been benefittiing from the conditional 5,000 Cash Transfer while the State has received a total sum of nine hundred and sixty two million, seven hundred and fifteen thousand naira from the Federal Government since the inception of the programme.
She said there are on-going plans to expand the schemes and urged beneficiaries to judiciously use the fund to attain desired results.
The Governor Engr Seyi Makinde represented by the chief of Staff, Oyebisi Ilaka appreciated the Federal Government for choosing Oyo State as the first to benefit from the special grant and pledged the full support of his administration in ensuring the successful implementation of the programmes.
Gov, Seyi Makinde explained that the social protection programmes have impacted meaningfully on the lives of people in Oyo State, human capital development have been improved and this has prevented many from falling further down the poverty line.
Earlier, the Commissioner of Women Affairs, Alhaja Fausat Sanni lauded the untiring efforts of the Federal Government at reducing poverty and the effects of the economic hardship posed by the Covid-19 pandemic on the hopeless, vulnerable group of people, aged people, widows and people living with disabilities.
She expressed her profound gratitude to the federal government for the provision of palliatives materials consisting of food items and other household utilities across the country to cushion the effect of lock down on the people.
She explained that the social programmes have helped reduced poverty remarkably and the culture of group savings and contributions developed had immensely helped the beneficiaries where by many who had nothing doing are now engaged in petty trading, poultry farming and animal husbandry.
