The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Kano State has empowered 440 women with N10,000 each from across the 44 Local Government Areas of the state.
The NDE Coordinator in Kano, Alhaji Iliyasu Ahmed, who disclosed this at the event on Tuesday in Kano, said the gesture was facilitated by Hajiya Yahanasu Buba, the All Progressives Congress (APC) woman leader, Northwest Zone.
Iliyasu said the empowerment programme was to reduce the hardship faced by women, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said that the beneficiaries were expected to use the fund to establish or boost their businesses and carter for their families.
“This is the purpose, hence, I am appealing to you to make proper use of the gesture, so that you can also benefit again when another opportunity comes.
“We have done such empowerment in the past where many youths and women benefited. I want to assure you that soon we will commence another programme,” he said.
He said over N50 million was spent in 2020 to empower youths and women across the state.
The coordinator said soon the agency would engage another set of 22,000 women in another Federal Government empowerment programme.
In her remarks, the Northwest APC woman leader, Hajiya Yahanasu Buba, said the empowerment was an effort to remove the women from poverty occasioned by the COVID-19 lockdown.
She called on the beneficiaries to utilise the opportunity given to them to compliment President Muhammad Buhari and Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje’s efforts in reducing poverty.
According to her, if you did not use the fund for the purpose you were given, the president’s efforts in reducing poverty may not be achieved.” She said.
Some of the beneficiaries who commended the NDE for the support given to them, assured the APC leader of judicious use of the money. (NAN)