Nigerian govt inaugurates N20,000 cash grant for 3,270 rural women in Osun

The Federal Government on Tuesday, inaugurated a N20,000 cash grant for about 3,270 rural women from 30 local government areas in Osun State.

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Farouq, disclosed this at the inauguration in Osogbo, noting that the programme was introduced in 2020.

Farouq, represented by Director of Finance and Account in the Ministry, Dr Matthew Dada, said the initiative it was to sustain the social inclusion plan of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

She maintained that the cash grant programme was also 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.

The minister said the grant would be disbursed to no fewer than 125,000 poor women across the 36 states of the federation and Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

She said: “Our target in Osun is to disburse the grant to over 3,500 beneficiaries across the 30 local government areas in the state. In line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s social inclusion, up to five per cent of the total number of the beneficiaries is allocated to persons with disability.

“We encourage the state government to take a cue from this and other provisions in the Discrimination against Persons with Disability (Prohibition) Act, 2019. The grant is expected to increase the income and productive assets of the target beneficiaries.

“It is our hope that the beneficiaries of this programme will make good use of the grant to generally contribute toward improving their living standard.”

On other social intervention programmes by the Federal Government, Farouq said more than 12 million households had benefitted from the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP).

The minister said the NSIP was one of the largest social protection programmes in Africa, noting that over $1 billion is earmarked annually to cause positive change in the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable in the country.

Read also: SPECIAL REPORT: Amid COVID-19, violence against Nigerian women rise as 60% of 13.5m girls out of school

Farouq said that since the inception of the programme in 2016, it had impacted positively on the lives of the poor and vulnerable in Nigeria.

In his remarks, Governor of Osun State, Gboyega Oyetola, commended President Buhari’s commitment to combating poverty through various social intervention programmes in the country.

Oyetola, represented by Secretary to the State Government, Prince Wole Oyebamiji said every effort to take care of the vulnerable was a vote for peace, security and prosperity of the nation.

“We must acknowledge that no society is truly secured until there is a proper plan put in place to take care of the most vulnerable.

“It is on this note, therefore, that we must commend this initiative, especially coming in the wake of the novel Coronavirus pandemic that has disrupted economic activities globally.

“I congratulate all the beneficiaries and urge them to make good use of this grant to improve their wellbeing,” Oyetola said.

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