By; DAHIRU SULEIMAN, Dutse
Governor Umar Namadi of Jigawa State has unveiled plans on the upcoming launch of a new women empowerment programme in collaboration with the World Bank, titled, “the Nigeria for Women Project”.
The initiative will target thousands of women, providing them with productive assets and overcoming institutional and market barriers to enhance their livelihoods.
Speaking at the launching of the Gwari Women Economic Empowerment Programme, which targets 12,600 women across the state in which each beneficiary will receive a cash grant of ₦50,000, totaling ₦630 million as economic support, Governor Namadi reiterated the government’s dedication to scaling up ongoing women empowerment programs, including the revolving goat-breeding programme, vocational skills and entrepreneurship development programs, and microcredit soft loans for women entrepreneurs.
According to him, this is part of Jigawa State’s efforts to empower women and reduce poverty,
“In line with most of the JCARES interventions, the objective of this initiative is to expand access to livelihood support, increased social transfers, and grants for poor and vulnerable households.
He said that while providing opportunities for women’s socioeconomic empowerment, this also helps to increase household consumption and improve the wellbeing of all family members.
Governor Namadi underscored the administration’s commitment to social justice and its 12-point Agenda, which prioritizes youth and women empowerment as well as social protection programs.
“As most of us are aware, one of the key policy- thrusts and development priorities of our administration is the pursuit of targeted youth and women empowerment and social protection programmes aimed at reducing vulnerabilities and extreme poverty among the population.
This is in line with our commitment to continuously improve the socioeconomic wellbeing of the citizens of Jigawa State in line with our belief in the principles of “social justice.” Indeed, this is an integral part of our 12-Point Agenda.”
He emphasized the importance of focusing on women, who make up 51% of Jigawa State’s population, to ensure their socioeconomic empowerment and improve the well-being of their families and communities.
“Recent data on the population of Jigawa State indicated that almost 51% of the over 7.5 million people in the state are females, meaning that there are more women than men in the state. Other statistics have also suggested that women are more prone to socioeconomic vulnerabilities and bear more of the brunt of poverty than men, especially considering that educational attainment is relatively lower among women. This makes it imperative for us to continuously pursue programmes targeting the socioeconomic empowerment of women.”
Earlier in her remarks, the Jigawa State Commissioner Women Affairs and Community Development, Hadiza T. AbdulWahab commended Jigawa State Government for the bold initiative, saying the gesture will impact meaningfully on the socio- economic status of the women groups.
She implored women to judiciously utilize the grant for the purpose intended as advise by Governor Namadi that such grant provided them was specifically meant to sustain their livelihood.
