At least 210 vulnerable female farmers, widows, petty traders and women with disabilities were empowered with cash and agricultural input in the 21 Local Government Areas of Kogi on Friday.
Kogi’s deputy governor, Chief Edward Onoja, flagged off the empowerment in Lokoja on behalf of Gov. Yahaya Bello.
He said the empowerment resulted from collaboration between the federal and state government to eliminate poverty and hunger among women and to uplift their living standards.
He added that the initiative would improve the living standards of the beneficiaries and enable them to contribute to the economy of Kogi and that of the country.
He advised women leader to whom the items were handed to distribute them judiciously in line with government’s policy of fairness, equity and justice.
He urged women to intensify prayers for Gov. Bello to enable him to win the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress so that he could extend the gesture nationwide.
He noted that this was the first time Kogi had a leader recognised nationwide and reckoned globally.
“I did not choose to go for presidency because of myself, but for the benefit of people of Kogi and Nigerians, especially the less privileged and the vulnerable women and children in the society,’’ Bello said.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajia Fatima Buba, said Kogi women are industrious, enterprising and versatile, especially in agriculture, and advised them to use the items for their intended purposes.
Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr David Apeh, also commended the federal and state governments for the gesture as well as Wema Bank for its preparedness to support women farmers in the state.
Apeh appealed to the bank to simplify its agricultural loan conditions to enable women to access it.
In her remarks, Manager of Wema Bank in Lokoja, Mrs Chinasa Isaac, assured the readiness of the bank to support government in its empowerment programmes.
She said the bank has products targeting the womenfolk and added that it was prepared to grant them loans ranging between N100,000 and N1 million to boost their businesses.
Some beneficiaries, Funke Abolaji, Sepuwa Danladi, Ramatu Yusuf and Omoshade Yemi from Yagba West, Yagba East, Idah, Ofu and Ibaji Local Governments Areas, commended the federal and state governments for the empowerment.
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They expressed happiness for benefitting from the programme and promised to use the cash as well as agricultural input judiciously.
Apart from cash, some of the beneficiaries got beans, rice, maize, groundnut seedlings and farm implements such as wheelbarrows, shovels, spraying container, fertiliser, and agricultural chemicals.
