By Zubairu Idris
The Federal Government of Nigeria is targeting over 160,000 poor and vulnerable rural women, to benefit from the N20,000 cash grant.
This, to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic across the country.
Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Faruk, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development disclosed at the launch of the grant, on Wednesday, in Katsina, where 6,800 rural women would benefit.
“We are targeting over 160,000 poor and vulnerable rural women in Nigeria for the N20,000 grant, to uplift their economic status. Our rural women with disabilities will also be included.
“I hope that the beneficiaries will use this opportunity to increase their income, enhance their food security and contribute toward improving their families,” she said, adding, “The N20,000, will go a long way in supporting any serious woman to start a business. What is most important is how judiciously you utilize the money”
The minister said that over N9.5 billion was received by Katsina State, under the Conditional Cash Transfer program, from the inception of this administration to date.
According to her, the grants had impacted the lives of over 142,474 vulnerable households in the state, as 12 local governments were currently benefitting from the program.
She also said that the Federal Government, in partnership with World Bank, had designed a Safety Net program for Nigeria, that included cash transfer, as well as a COVID-19 rapid response register.
“President Buhari has approved 1 million beneficiaries in the country to be given another N5,000 for the next six months to cushion the effects of COVID-19. This time around, we are going to target the urban poor and the artisans who lost their small businesses as a result of the pandemic,” she said.
In his remarks, the state Deputy Governor, Mannir Yakubu, who represented Gov. Aminu Masari, at the occasion, commended the Federal Government for the grant.
Yakubu pointed out that the government had done so much through its social intervention program, to uplift the living condition of people in the country, since its inception, and urged the beneficiaries to ensure judicious use of the grant, to enhance their livelihoods.
NAN
