FG disburses N3.18bn to 101,567 employees

The Federal Government has disbursed N3.18 billion to 101,567 employees as payroll support.

The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Mariam Yelwaji Katagum, said the payroll support was meant to cushion the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

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The minister revealed that N30,000 was paid to each of the 94,696 employees, amounting to N2.84bn while N50,000 was paid to each of 6,871 employees, amounting to N343.55bn.

Ashe said 2.6% of the beneficiaries were people with special needs while 43 percent of the total beneficiaries were women.

“The disbursement for Payroll Support is ongoing across the country. However, due to the inability of some states to meet their target application numbers, the portal will be reopened to accommodate such states,” she said.

The beneficiaries include 25,000 in Lagos; 17,000 in Kano; 16,000 in Abia, and 13,000 across other states. The minister announced that general MSME Grants would take off from November 27, 2020. She said the federal government would disburse N50,000 to 100,000 MSMEs under the grant scheme.

“This group of beneficiaries is encouraged to take advantage of registration through MSME associations, registered business clusters, trade associations, and unions,” she said.