The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouk has flagged off the disbursement of N20,000 grant each to over 150,000 poor rural women across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
She stated this at the flag-off of the grant for rural women project and symbolic disbursement held at Azare in Bauchi State on Thursday, adding that the disbursement is expected to increase access to financial capital required for economic activities.
The minister said the conditional cash transfer program in Bauchi State was intended to improve the livelihood of over 54,738 poor and vulnerable households across 16 local government areas of Bauchi State.
The LGs are Gamawa, Tafawa-Balewa, Alkaleri, Darazau, Bogoro, Zaki, Warji, Ningi, Katagum, Kirfi, Jama’are, Dambam, Dass, Itas/Gadau, Misau and Toro with a total disbursement to date of N2,987,360,000.
The minister said that “it is our hope that the beneficiaries of this programme will make good use of the opportunity to increase their income, enhance their food security, and generally contribute towards improving their living standard.”
She explained that the grant for rural women programme was introduced in 2020 by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development as part of President Mohammadu Buhari’s social inclusion and poverty reduction agenda, including the realization of the national aspiration of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.
Sadiya said the programme is designed to provide a one-off grant to some of the poorest and most vulnerable women in rural Nigeria.
Represented by the Deputy Director, Humanitarian Affairs of the Ministry, Dr. Abubakar Suleiman, the minister explained that the Federal Government in partnership with the World Bank designed and developed a safety nets programme for Nigeria under the platform of the National Social Safety Net Project (NASSP).
The minister added that since the inception of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in 2015, the government has been paying 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) as a strategy for enhancing social inclusion. NSIP is one of the largest social protection programmes in Africa. Since its introduction in 2016, it has impacted positively on the lives of the poor and vulnerable in Nigeria. I have personally witnessed the life-changing experiences of people who lived below the poverty line and those that are vulnerable to shocks,” she said.
The minister also said that the programme provides targeted monthly base cash transfer of N5,000 to poor and vulnerable households with the sole aim of graduating them out of poverty.
The minister concluded that: “We believe with the complementary effort of His Excellency, Bala Muhammed, the Executive Governor of Bauchi State, the target beneficiaries will be on their way out of poverty to prosperity.
Emir of Katagum, Farouk Umar Kabir II, represented by Makaman Katagum Aliyu Husseini, thanked the minister for choosing his emirate for the flag off of the program.
