3,816 OYO RESIDENTS RECEIVE A FG GRANT OF N20,000, WHILE OTHERS ARE CHOSEN FOR N50,000 LOANS.

On Wednesday, the federal government started giving a one-time cash reward of N20,000 to 3,816 recipients in all 33 local government areas in Oyo State.

The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development is disbursing money under the Grant for Vulnerable Groups (GVG) program in line with its mission to raise 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next ten years.

At a ceremony marking the beginning of the disbursement to residents of Oyo State on Thursday at the State Secretariat in Ibadan, Sadiya Umar Farouq, the minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, stated that 70% of the beneficiaries are women, 30% are youth, and 15% are the elderly and people with disabilities.

The minister noted that the most needy and vulnerable Nigerians in rural and peri-urban areas across the country were chosen as recipients of the one-time cash handout. The minister was represented by the director of Human Resources in the ministry, Mr. Tokunbo Rufai.

The program also included the introduction of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP 2.0), which benefited 11,978 chosen individuals in the state’s 33 local government units.

Widows, young people, disabled people, displaced people, and low-income Nigerians who are engaged in some type of commercial activity or capacity but have never had the opportunity to receive loans are given priority by GEEP when it comes to receiving loans.

The GEEP programs are divided into three categories: TraderMoni, which offers loans of N50,000 to underprivileged and marginalized young people between the ages of 18 and 40; MarketMoni, which offers loans of N10,000 to underprivileged and marginalized women, particularly those who head households; and FarmerMoni, which offers loans of N30,000 to rural farmers in need of agricultural inputs.

In her remarks, Mrs. Aderonke Adedayo, executive assistant to Governor Seyi Makinde on Intervention, listed state government initiatives aimed at enhancing welfare and empowering residents.

Dr. Olukemi Afolayan, chief of programs at the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Oyo State, spoke at the occasion and cautioned the beneficiaries not to fritter away the money but rather to invest in projects that will improve their way of life and help them escape poverty.