No Fewer than 2,099 Vulnerable Groups and rural poor have been selected to benefit from the Federal Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP 2.0) in Edo.
The number were selected out of the 7,126 potential beneficiaries that registered for the prgramme in state
Sadiya Umar-Farouq, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development disclosed this during the flagged-off of the cash grant and other Social Investment Programmes in Benin
Umar-Farouq, represented by Mrs Patience Achor, a deputy director in the ministry said the 2,099 beneficiaries were selected from across the 18 local government areas of the state after the verification exercise.
She explained that, about1,142,783 potential beneficiaries registered across the 774 local government areas in the first phase of GEEP in Nigeria.
The minister listed programmes flagged- off under the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) in the state to include TraderMoni, MarketMoni and FarmerMoni.
According to her, the GEEP has been restructured to have a top-bottom representation from the federal, state and local government levels respectively.
She added that the grant for the vulnerable groups was designed to provide a one-off cash grant of N20,000 across the 36 States of the federation and the federal capital territory.
“Our target in Edo State is to disburse the grant to 2,764 beneficiaries across the state. 70 percent of these beneficiaries must be women, while the remaining 30 percent will be the youths.
“Mr. President has further directed that, at least 15 percent of the total number of beneficiaries must specifically be allocated to citizens with special needs,” she said.
According to her, the initiatives were in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to fight poverty from all angles.
Earlier, Mrs Osayuwamen Aladeselu, Edo State Focal Person, National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) said about 4,009 persons have benefitted from the marketmoni in the state
Aladeselu also added that over 30,000 persons have benefitted from tradermoni since 2019 when the GEEP 1.0 was launched in the state by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
She commended the federal government for the empowerment programme, and advised the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the fund.
