… As 1000 Petty Traders Get N50,000 To Boost Businesses
By Timothy Ekpo
UYO
A total of 1000 petty traders in Akwa Ibom have benefitted from the Renewed Hope Economic Empowerment and Recapitalisation Grant as the wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, launched the programme in Uyo.
At the official launch of the project at the Banquet Hall, Government House, Uyo, Senator Tinubu acknowledged the challenges faced by small and medium enterprises, particularly female petty traders.
Represented by the deputy governor of Akwa Ibom, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, the Nigerian First Lady said the Renewed Hope Initiative Economic Empowerment Programme would provide a total of N1,815,000,000 (One Billion Eight Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) to 37,000 women petty traders across the country.
“Economic empowerment remains a core objective of the Renewed Hope Initiative and we have consistently delivered on this promise for both women and youth across the six geopolitical zones to support the economic reforms of the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
“We recognise that empowering women economically is not just a moral imperative but a strategic one. When women thrive, their families thrive and by extension, our communities and nation prosper,” she said and emphasised the importance of empowering women, as having the moral and strategic imperative.
The Akwa Ibom governor, Pastor Umo Eno, represented by the secretary to the state government, Prince Enobong Uwah, said the programme aligned with the ARISE Agenda of his administration and commended Oluremi Tinubu’s compassionate disposition to all Nigerians.
“It is deeply humbling to know this strong emphasis placed on agriculture, education, health, economic empowerment and social investments as the critical pipe pillars of the Renewed Hope Initiative.
“The key areas of the Renewed Hope Initiative align with our ARISE Agenda’s deep emphasis on agricultural revolution, education, and the 17 focal areas, which include tackling poverty through job creation and skills development, the provision of healthcare, especially at the primary level, and other social welfare programmes”, he said.
Eno opined that the solution to the rising cost of staple food items remained the return to farming by Nigerians to stem the effect of hunger and poverty. The Governor charged beneficiaries to make good use of the grant as there would be no other opportunity for them to access such funds.
“That’s why we have declared every first and third Friday of the month as Farming Free Days. The Ministry of Agriculture has done a great job by supplying farm inputs to our people and we are hopeful that in the next harvesting period, we will have enough food to feed our people and thus reduce the prices of these staple food items”, he added.
In her remarks, the coordinator of the programme in Akwa Ibom State and wife of the governor, Pastor Patience Eno, represented by the commissioner for women affairs and social welfare, Dr. Ini Adiakpan, appreciated Tinubu for the gesture, stressing that the grant would assist the women in business expansion and also help unite families in the state.
The event was graced by the wife of deputy speaker, Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, AKHA, Mrs Enobong Edidem, key female stakeholders in the state, female council chairmen, wives of local government chairmen, among other dignitaries.
The programme aims to support 1,000 women petty traders in Akwa Ibom with a grant of N50,000 (Fifty Thousand Naira) each.
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