William Attah, Gombe
No fewer than 220 women from different parts of Gombe State received grants of N20,000 each from the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouk.
The Minister, who came to Gombe along with her counterpart from the Ministry of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, both told the women at the Gombe International Hotel that they were in the State on the instance of President Muhammadu Buhari to disburse N20,000 grant to rural women in the State.
While charging the women on the judicious use of the grants to enhance their existing businesses and come out of poverty, she said President Muhammadu Buhari has so much interest in lifting the hands of women, widows and the vulnerable persons to have better lives in view of the COVID-19 pandemic that affected them.
She told Governor Inuwa Yahaya earlier during a courtesy call that the disbursement would be carried out in collaboration with the office of the First Lady of Gombe State as well as the State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare.
According to her, “Your Excellency may recall that Mr. President has come up with different social investment programmes to alleviate the sufferings of our vulnerable groups all over the country”.
She then thanked Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya for his support to the women folk, describing his disposition towards women activities in Gombe State as encouraging and worthy of emulation.
Governor Yahaya in his response, paid glowing tribute to President Muhammadu Buhari for initiating several intervention programmes for the economic upliftment of Nigerians especially the downtrodden in the society.
He described the intervention as apt saying, “Our rural women are indeed the backbone of the economy of Gombe State knowing fully well that about 80 percent of our people are peasant farmers and when you go to the villages you see the women more in the fields either the old ones or the young girls working and toiling day and night in order to maintain the families. So for us the support you are bringing to them is not small but very big .”
He said his administration will continue to engage with both Ministries with a view to canvassing more support to the State.
