By Awayi Kuje

The Federal Government on Wednesday disbursed the sum of N52 million  to 2,600 vulnerable rural women in Nasarawa State to uplift their socio-economic status.

Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouq,  Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, while flagging off the Special Cash Grant for rural women in Lafia, said each beneficiary was entitled to N20,000.

Represented by the Minister of State for Science and Technology, Mohammed Hassan-Abdullahi, Umar-Farouq, said the programme was designed to provide a one-off grant to some of the poorest and most vulnerable women in rural Nigeria.

“The Special Cash Grant for rural women programme being flagged off today was introduced in 2020 by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, as part of President Muhammadu Buhari’s social inclusion and poverty reduction agenda,” she said.

She added that the programme was also geared towards the realisation of the national aspiration of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 year.

The minister said that over 150,000 rural women across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would benefit from the grant aimed at increasing access to financial capital required for economic activities.

“Since the inception of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in 2015, the government has paid more attention to protecting and promoting the plight of the poor and vulnerable in the country.

“This informed the decision to initiate the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), a strategy for enhancing social inclusion and protection of the most vulnerable segments of our society.

“Nasarawa state has received a total sum of N3, 122, 740, 000 from the Federal Government Conditional Transfer Programme from inception, impacting the lives of 48, 687 poor and vulnerable households in five Local Government Areas in the state.

“They are Lafia, Wamba, Akwanga, Kokona and Nassarawa Local Government Areas,’’ she said.

Umar-Farouq urged the beneficiaries to ensure judicious use of the funds to better their standard of living.

Also speaking, Gov. Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State lauded the federal government for initiating the programme towards changing the lives of the vulnerable women positively.

Sule, who was represented by his deputy, Dr Emmanuel Akabe also restated the state government’s determination to key into peoples’ oriented programme in order to boost development across the state.

Earlier, Hajiya Halima Jabiru, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, said the state was lucky to witness yet another show of benevolence by the federal government.

She added that the gesture would ameliorate the plight of citizens, particularly the vulnerable rural women.

Some beneficiaries of the grant, Mrs Ladi Ambrose and Mrs Azumi Yusuf, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), lauded the federal government for the gesture, promising to ensure judicious use of the fund. (NAN)