No fewer than 5,200 women spread across the 44 local government areas of Kano State have received N50,000 empowerment from governor Abba Yusuf.
At an event in the Government House yesterday, Governor Yusuf said the women selected from the 484 wards of the local governments were empowered to be self-reliant and contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic well-being of the entire society.
“We are here today for the continuation of a remarkable program we initiated, which is an empowerment of 5,200 women from across the 44 local government areas and from the 484 wards within these 44 local government areas.
“Allow me at this point to refresh the memory of this gathering, as well as the good people of Kano State, about one of the promises we made during our statewide campaign in 2023.
“During that time, we promised to commit ourselves to empowering a significant number of women, so as to enable them to become self-reliant, take care of their families, and contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic well-being of the entire society.
“Today, as we witness the fulfilment of that promise, we give all gratitude to Allah for making it possible,” the governor stated.
The governor further stated that since the launching of the intervention programme in May 2024 his administration has improved the livelihoods of over 41,600 vulnerable women by removing a significant financial barrier stopping them from contributing to the economy of their state.
“Through this laudable program, we aim to provide a seed of funds for our indigent women to engage in projects and learn skills to become artisans and self-reliant.
“We have been committed to the distribution of monthly working capital of 50,000 Naira per head to 5,200 women. Let me again emphasize the role of women in nation-building, which cannot be over-emphasized,” he added.
The governor quoted a 2022 Nigeria Multidimensional Poverty Index report showing that Kano State ranked above the national 63% average, with about 10.5 million people being multidimensionally poor.
“This data shows that we must implement deliberate policies to lift millions of our citizens out of poverty and by the grace of Allah, this is exactly what we have been doing.
“We understand very well that to tackle gross poverty, we need to give people more than just capital.
“Our administration aims to empower people with the knowledge and skills to make the right decisions to improve their fortunes” the governor declared.
Governor Yusuf called on all the women beneficiaries of this empowerment to make sure that they responsibly utilize the capital of N50,000 given to each of them while notifying them that it is not a loan but a gesture by government.
