Tina Ezin, Calabar
The Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Social Welfare and Disaster Management, Hon. Sadiya Farouk on Monday flag-off of the Conditional Cash Transfer programme in Calabar with 36,000 women in Cross River State as targeted beneficiaries.
The Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) is designed to support those within the lowest poverty brackets with the primary aim of giving them a new lease of life and reduce poverty, a Programme provided by the All Progressives Congress (APC) government under President Mohammad Buhari to reduce social tension and lower the poverty index in the country
The Minister urged beneficiaries to take advantage of the cash grant by using it judiciously in order to grow in business saying “many lives, small and medium scale businesses have already started through the various interventions of the Ministry” as the impact is massive at the grassroot.
In a courtesy call to the executive Governor of the State, Sen Ben Ayade, She thanked the Governor for creating the state Ministry of Humanity and Social Welfare services, through which thousands of people in the state have benefited from Federal Government Humanitarian Programmes and other impactful programsmes of the government.
On her part, the National Women leader of APC, Dr Betta Edu harped on the importance of empowering women which is a recipe for building the family and laying a solid foundation for a viable society.
Edu commended the Minister for flagging off the programme in the state and advanced reasons why women must all come out enmass to canvass vote for the Presidential Candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as APC will even do more to keep its social contract with the people.
While speaking at the event, Governor Ben Ayade stated that the Calachika chicken processing plant, the noodles factory and the vitaminised rice mill established by his administration were geared towards complementing the National Social Safety Nets Project under which the school feeding programme runs.
Ayade also appealed to the federal government to factor in factories built by his administration in the school feeding programme by patronising its products which will boost capacity and viability of the factories.
