Yobe State government with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Lake Chad Regional Stabilisation Facility, on Sunday, disbursed N75 million cash grant to 1500 women IDP returnees of Buniyadi headquarters of Gujba Local Government Area of the state.
Speaking while flagging off the distribution of the grant in Damaturu, Governor Mai Mala Buni noted that each beneficiary would go home with fifty thousand naira cash as startup capital.
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Buni said the grant was part of government efforts aimed at restoring livelihoods and equipping the IDPs to be self-reliant.
He said: “As we all know, Gujba Local Government had suffered the destruction by the Boko Haram insurgency that required the need for urgent government attention to facilitate their recovery.
“Our administration has recently distributed a pair of goats and N10,000 to five women in each of the 178 wards across the state as a deliberate measure to empower the women.
“Similarly, 3,000 women were supported through the state Ministry of Women Affairs with N20,000 each to improve their bean cake ‘Kosai’ making and other petty businesses.”
He commended the UNDP for the partnership, adding that such a humanitarian gesture would go a long way in supporting the post-insurgency recovery process of the state.
One of the beneficiaries, Hauwa Mohammed, assured the government that she would use the money to expand the capital of her home-based business.