By Dare Akogun
The Governor of Kwara state mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq has reiterated the resolve of his administration to build resilience among the people and support the less privileged in the society through impactful initiatives such as social transfer programme.
The Governor said this at the official flag off of Phase 2 of the Kwara Cares Social Transfer Programme, held at Ajikobi compound lorin West Local Government Area of the State.
Represented by the All Progressives Congress Chairman of Ilorin West Local Government Area, Alhaji Suleiman Tejidini, the governor noted that the resolve of his administration to tackle, headlong, the menace of poverty among residents of the state has been yielding positive results.
According to him, the first phase of the Social Transfer Programme provided succour to one thousand, six hundred and ninety individuals for a period of one year, while this second phase would be bringing onboard a total of six thousand, six hundred and thirteen beneficiaries from across the sixteen local government areas with steady monthly stipend of ten thousand naira for a period of one year.
Governor AbdulRahman said the government is not oblivious of the huge challenges the recent fuel subsidy removal poses to the socio-economic well-being of citizens, hence the renewed commitment towards social investment to ensure no one is left behind in the development of the state.
In a remark, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Development, Mrs. Rebecca Olanrewaju, said the Kwara Cares Social Transfer programme had provided a platform through which the state government had been reaching out to the very poor and vulnerable in the society in form of monthly cash.
Also speaking , the Technical Head, Kwara Care Social Transfer, Doctor Aminah Yahaya, said the programme was designed to cushion the negative socio-economic impacts of the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic by disbursing monthly stipend of ten thousand naira to selected poor and vulnerable individuals.
Doctor Yahaya noted that the beneficiaries were brought on board having met the programme requirements of being enrolled in the state social register and categorised as aged, chronically ill, physically challenged and urban poor.
She solicited the increase in the number of beneficiaries of the programme premised on the high demand from the communities in the state.
Some beneficiaries, Mrs. Suliat Sheu, Alhaji Salimatu Yinusa and Mr. Mohammed Bashir appreciated the state government’s initiative, saying that the scheme would go a long way to alleviate their sufferings and meet up with their daily needs.
