Taraba state government’s policy on empowerment was further boosted on Wednesday in Jalingo with the distribution of N789, 000,000 to women groups under the Nigeria for Women Project.
At a ceremony held at the Jolly Nyame Stadium, Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku, who flagged off the distribution, announced that 13,243 women would receive grants of a maximum of N60, 000 each.
The women who received the funds under the pilot implementation of the programme are from Takum, Bali and Zing local government areas of the state.
Speaking further, Gov Ishaku said the women who received the grants were those who submitted themselves to the tenets of Nigeria for Women Project and had proven themselves capable of handling growth, having practised the method of savings and loans and had also acquired financial, business, gender, and life skills training.
Gov Ishaku assured that the programme of empowerment for women started under the Nigeria for Women project would continue until all the beneficiaries with successful business plans had received their grants.
He advised recipients of the grants to keep strictly to the tenets of the agreements they had signed.
Also speaking at the event, Engr Haruna Manu, deputy governor and chairman of the steering committee of the project in Taraba state, commended Gov Ishaku for his unflinching support by promptly approving the required counterpart funds of N200 million for the project.
This, he said, had been largely responsible for the success of the project. He disclosed that the Nigeria for Women project in Taraba State was targeting a total of 54,000 women in the three implementing local government areas.
Mrs Ruth Mshelia, coordinator of the project described the experimental in Taraba state as a huge success and commended traditional rulers and other community leaders in the state for their roles in ensuring the successful outcome.
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