From Oluseye Ojo and Eniola Oyemolade, Ibadan
Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Senator Aisha Alhassan, has assured that 70 per cent of Nigerians will be captured by the Federal Government in its new social intervention programme initiated to empower the vulnerable and impoverished, especially women.
She said each beneficiary can get between N10,000 and N100,000 as loan, which is repayable in six months with one month grace after disbursement. However, the interest free loan can only be accessed through membership of registered association, cooperative, trade or other organisations.
She disclosed this during a town hall meeting with women groups at the House of Chiefs, Agodi Secretariat, Ibadan, yesterday, during her advocacy and sensitisation visit to Oyo State on Government Enterprises and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) and National Women Empowerment Fund (NAWEF).
Alhassan, who noted that sanctions have been put in place for defaulters, said: “My ministry has the mandate to cater for the welfare and wellbeing of women, children, the aged, people with disabilities, the vulnerable and distressed persons who, together, constitute about 70 per cent of the Nigerian population.
“The present administration, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari has put together a social investment programme which has five pillars, namely; the Home Grown School Feeding Programme, the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, the job creation programme called N-Power, the Student Bursary Programme known as STEM, and the GEEP.”
Alhassan said out of the five programmes, GEEP was being implemented by her ministry in collaboration with the Bank of Industry, which is the administering bank for the fund.
She described GEEP as a micro-credit programme for “men and women, boys and girls. Out of the GEEP fund, N1.6 billion has been set aside exclusively for women only.” She said the women special fund is known as NAWEF.
The minister added that both GEEP and NAWEF “are financial inclusion and micro-credit programmes,” expected to reduce poverty among rural dwellers, especially women, and provide skills development, training and business support; assist in rebuilding the economies of rural areas through financial inclusion; and build strong partnerships between the ministry, state ministries of women affairs, BOI and development partners.
Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, represented by his deputy, Otunba Moses Adeyemo, who earlier received the minister at the Executive Chambers of his office on courtesy call, said: “We are glad to note that the visit is basically to intimate our women with the Federal Government Social Investment Programme called GEEP and NAWEF.
He was optimistic the visit of the minister would ease and enhance the state government’s access to the GEEP and NAWEF intervention programmes as soon as possible.
Ajimobi, however, noted that 3,017 households were benefitting from the government’s National Cash Transfer project; “over 9,573 individuals are currently benefitting from N-Power project; and 107,983 pupils are being fed under the Home Grown School Feeding Programme, while 1,372 vendors and 1,300 schools are benefitting from it.”
Commissioner of Women Affairs, Community Development, Social Welfare, and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Atinuke Osunkoya, said the introduction of GEEP and NAWEF “will most certainly meet the needs of our good people through the provision of micro credit loans in a sustainable manner as a tool for self employment.”