No fewer than 27,200 women in Katsina State have so far benefited from the N5,000 cash gift offered by the state government in its bid to alleviate poverty among women and youths.
Dr Badiyyah Mashi,the Commissioner of Women Affairs, who made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Tuesday in Daura, said that the gesture was aimed at boosting the economic standing of the beneficiaries.
“The token is expected to complement their income. The programme started in Jan. 2019 with disbursements made in four batches across the 34 local governments.
“Within the period, 200 women were selected on monthly basis, as beneficiaries from each of the local governments. What we do is to give the stipend to 6,800 women every month,” she said.
Mashi called on the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the amount by deploying it into productive ventures, stressing that the cash gift was not a loan that would be repaid, or bonanza that should be wasted.
“It is a free gift from the government towards making the beneficiaries economically independent,” she asserted.
She said that Gov. Aminu Masari was committed and determined to empower women and youths in order to achieve economic prosperity. (NAN)