The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, has disclosed that 3,400 poor and vulnerable women in Edo state have been empowered with N20,000 each during the flag off of the Federal Government Special Cash Grant in the state.
In a statement Wednesday by the Deputy Director of Information, Rhoda Ishaku Iliya, speaking through her representative, the Director Humanitarian Affairs, Alhaji Ali Grema, Farouq said the grant is expected to increase income and productive assets of target beneficiaries.
She enjoined the beneficiaries to make good use of the grant to generally contribute towards improving their living standards as the money belongs to them alone.
“Poverty reduction goals requires a combination of strategies, each targeting specific needs sectors among the population. This informed the decision by Mr. President to initiate the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) as a strategy for reducing poverty and enhancing Social Inclusion,” she said.
Speaking through the wife of the deputy governor, Mrs. Maryam Philip-Shaibu, the state governor, Godwin Obaseki, commended the initiative of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, noting that the approach brings the government in direct contact with rural women, taking into cognisance their enormous challenges and the prevailing economic realities.
Obaseki applauded the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for its commitment to grassroot empowerment, especially the grant given to the rural women in the state and urged government at all levels to leverage on areas of comparative advantages in channeling intervention with a bid to reach the unreached amongst the citizens.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of the state’s Ministry of Social Development and Gender Issues, Pastor Mrs. Dorcas Idehen, said the federal government’s initiative, geared towards lifting the socio-economic status of rural women, was highly recommendable.
