Federal Govt Committed To Lifting 100m Out Of Poverty – Minister

Federal government said its plan to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years is on course.

The minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development, Sadiya Umar Farouq disclosed this yesterday in Birnin Kebbi in Kebbi State when she flagged off the federal government’s cash grant to vulnerable groups in the state.

Farouq said the gesture which is under the Government Enterprise Empowerment Programme (GEEP) is a one-off grant of N20,000 to rural and semi-urban women to enable them to boost their small-scale businesses.

She added that 4,112 people would benefit from the programme out of which 70 percent must be women and 30% youths while focus would be placed on persons with disabilities.

She noted that the gesture is to assist petty traders such as widows, IDPs and PWDs who could not access loan programmes.

The head of GEEP Implementation Programme, Hajiya Zainab Musa also told the gathering that the programme would among other things target rural dwellers who could not get access to loans and other empowerment programmes.