About N5.8 million has been disbursed to 584 women and youths in Taraba State under the Micro Enterprise Enhancement Scheme (MEES) the Minister of Power Alhaji Sale Mamman, said on Monday.
Speaking during the disbursement of loans to the beneficiaries in Jalingo, Mamman said the gesture was part of the strategies adopted by the Federal Government to bring more Nigerians out of poverty.
Mamman, who was represented by his Special Assistant on Administration, Alhaji Gambo Karim, noted that the gesture was to assist President Muhammadu Buhari in rolling out life transforming programmes.
“Today, we have seen the practical demonstration of the president’s promise to women and youths who are engaged in small businesses. The enhancement of many micro businesses will lead to aggregate economic boom because such small ventures are building blocks of larger businesses.
We have confidence on the beneficiaries of this micro enterprises enhancement scheme because most of them are already business owners”.
Mamman commended the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) for its efforts toward reducing unemployment in the state, assuring of a continuous partnership with the NDE to ensure that the people of the state continued to benefit from dividends of democracy.
Earlier, Director-General of the NDE, Dr Ladan Argungu, said that the directorate had embarked on various employment promotions and poverty reduction activities for the citizenry, noting however, that the major constraint in achieving the goals of the directorate was lack of access to micro credit with human face.
Argungu, who was represented by Alhaji Aderemi Adebisi, Coordinator of the NDE in Taraba, commended the minister of power for the collaboration with the NDE to disburse the loan at the rate of N10, 000 per individual.
While lamenting that most organisations and privileged individuals are not willing to lend to this category of under privileged persons, he said the loan would boost existing micro enterprises and facilitate the establishment of new small businesses and reduce idleness by engaging beneficiaries in profitable economic activities and enhance family income.
The beneficiaries were selected from the 16 local government areas in the state. Among them is Ms Doris Yakubu, who commended the Federal Government for the initiative.
She expressed optimism that the amount given to them would go a long way in boosting their businesses.
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