The Federal Government has disbursed N70m to 3,500 poor and vulnerable women in Ogun state to cushion effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
It was disbursed during the flag off the distribution of the FG Special Cash Grant for rural women Project at Obasanjo Complex, Abeokuta, Ogun State, through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.
One of the beneficiaries is a physically challenged,Kafayat Okesola, from Abeokuta.
The symbolic presentation of the N20,000 cash grant to her was performed by Deputy Governor Mrs. Noimot Salako-Oyedele, who advised the beneficiaries not to spend the money frivolously.
The Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Sadiya Umar Farouk, while addressing the beneficiaries drawn from 20 Local Governments, said the cash grant was meant to ease the plights of the rural dwellers.
Farouk disclosed that 12 million households have benefitted from President Muhammadu Buhari – led administration social investment scheme in the last five years, including N5000.00 cash disbursement to one million indigent persons, the N-Power programme, which provided temporary income-generating opportunities for 500,000 unemployed youths and 8,612,457 primary 1-3 pupils in public schools receiving one meal per day under the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme.
The Minister, who was represented by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Bashir Nura Alkali, said the policy formed part of the commitment of the President to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.
” It is designed to provide a one-off grant to some of the poorest and most vulnerable women in rural and peri-urban areas of the country.
“A cash grant of N20,000.00 will be disbursed to about 125,000 poor women across the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
“Our target in Ogun State is to disburse the grant to about 3,500 beneficiaries across all Local Government Councils.
