Old and vulnerable people across Patigi local government area of Kwara State have described the ongoing disbursement of conditional cash transfer (Owo Arugbo) to them as a first in the history of the state.
Receiving the November/December cycle of the social safety, recipients said no administration has mapped out a deliberate strategy to reach out to the poor and vulnerable directly as is being done under the AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq administration’s Kwara State Social Investment Programme.
Owo Arugbo is one of the four components of the KWASSIP, which has been designed to support poor and vulnerable families, petty traders, and young people at various levels. At least 10,000 indigent 60-year-olds and above have been captured for the first phase of the anti-poverty measure.
The government flagged off the disbursement of the nonrefundable once-in-two-months stipends of N6000 in Patigi on Monday, with beneficiaries in other local governments slated to receive theirs as scheduled by the KWASSIP team.
Beneficiaries of Owo Arugbo, the conditional cash transfer (CCT) component of the Kwara State Social Investment Programme on Monday praised the AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq administration for fulfilling its promises to the vulnerable as the state flagged off the disbursement of non-refundable N6,000 once every two months in Patigi.
The KWASSIP team also disbursed N10,000 Owo Isowo, another people-oriented scheme designed for petty traders.
Some of the beneficiaries who spoke with newsmen in Patigi local government commended the state government for taking the bold step in alleviating their suffering and pleaded for its sustainability. Mayaki Gudugi of Patigi Ward four expressed delight over the gesture and promised that the money would be used judiciously.