The Federal Government Special Cash Grant for Rural Women Programme has been launched in Akure, Ondo State.
The programme was flagged off by the Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, along with the Executive Governor of Ondo State, His Excellency, Arakunmi Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, at the Ondo State Government House.
The Minister said the grant of twenty thousand Naira (N20,000) will be disbursed to over 150,000 poor rural women across the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT.
“The Special Cash Grant for Rural Women Programme being flagged off today was introduced this year 2020 by the Ministry as part of President Muhammadu Buhari’s social inclusion and poverty reduction agenda, including the realisation of the national aspiration of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.
“It is designed to provide a one-off grant to some of the poorest and vulnerable women in Nigeria” she stated.
Farouq enjoined the beneficiaries of the programme to make good use of the opportunity to increase their income, enhance their food security and contribute towards improving their standard.
In his remarks, the Executive Governor of Ondo State, Arakunmi Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, said “This is a welcome idea, especially as it provides an enabling platform for women empowerment, tackling poverty and resuscitating the economy after a long period of privation engendered by COVID-19 pandemic which continues to ravage the world.
“Ondo State government is highly delighted for the initiative of empowering rural women as a social inclusion and poverty agendum.
This initiative is in consonance with Ondo State government’s aspiration to lift a sizeable proportion of women out of poverty”.
Continuing, the Governor said that a sizeable number of rural women benefited from the social investment programme initiated by the Federal government.
These include the Home Grown School Feeding Programme which engaged 1490 women out of 1506 as Cooks in our public primary schools; the Public Workfare empowered 2,930 Female who received by a stipend of N7,500 monthly; Special Grant Transfers; State Conditional Transfer among others.
Governor Akeredolu appreciated the Federal government for all the Social Intervention Initiatives that have transformed the lives of the rural women in the State.
He expressed the readiness of the State to collaborate with agencies of the Federal government in ensuring remarkable improvement in the living conditions of the people.