To benefit from the N20,000 cash grant, the Federal Government is targeting more than 160,000 poor and vulnerable rural women across the country to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, made the disclosure at the launch of the grant on Wednesday in Katsina, where 6,800 rural women would benefit from it.
“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 a disability will also be included.
“It is my 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 utilise the money”.
The Minister stated that, under the Conditional Cash Transfer Program, over N9.5 billion has been received by the Katsina State from the beginning of this administration to date.
According to her, the grants had an impact on the lives of more than 142,474 vulnerable households in the state, as the program currently benefits 12 local governments.
The Minister listed Bakori, Batagarawa, Baure, Bindawa, Dandume, Ingawa, Kaita, Kankara, Mani, Musawa, Rimi and Danmusa as beneficial local governments.
The Minister also stated that, in partnership with the World Bank, the Federal Government had designed a Safety Net program for Nigeria, which included cash transfers and a Rapid Response Register for COVID-19.
“The President 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
The State Deputy Governor, Mannir Yakubu, who represented Gov. Aminu Masari, praised the Federal Government for the grant in his remarks on the occasion.
Yakubu pointed out that through its social intervention program, the government has done so much to improve the living conditions of people in the country since its inception, and urged the beneficiaries to ensure that the grant is used judiciously to improve their livelihoods.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
