Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum has distributed a grant of N100m as empowerment to 1,000 unemployed youths from different wards in Biu Local Government Area of the state.
The grant is meant to be used as start-up capital for micro and small businesses and to stimulate the economy of Biu, Zulum said when he flagged off the distribution at Kadafur Cinema yesterday in Biu town.
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During the visit, Zulum commissioned a Mega-size Government Secondary School in Buratai village inside Biu for 1,500 students. He also opened a higher Islamic school for 1,200 students and a zonal monitoring and evaluation department.
The N100m grant to 1,000 unemployed youths was the fourth of Zulum’s activities in Biu.
The governor said the government must sustain its fight to reduce unemployment and to fight poverty, citing that poverty played a crucial role in the emergence of Boko Haram.
He noted that his administration was doing everything humanly possible to assist vulnerable citizens across the state.
The governor urged the 1,000 beneficiaries of the N100m grant to make good use of the money for the betterment of their livelihoods.
Earlier, Commissioner for Youth Empowerment, Sports Development and Poverty Alleviation, Saina Buba said the 1,000 beneficiaries were selected from wards across Biu LGA.
Zulum, it can be recalled, has since 2019, distributed billions of naira to thousands of low income citizens especially unemployed youths, physically challenged as well as aged men and women to aggressively fight poverty across the state.
The governor had also launched economic packages which offered cash support to small and medium scale entrepreneurs through trade associations, in order to stimulate their businesses.
