Sokoto Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, said the state government will
provide soft loans worth N250 million to 25, 000 women across the state.
Tambuwal spoke in Yabo LGA when he presented cheques to 120 women as part
of constituency empowerment programme of the Majority Leader of the state
House of Assembly, Hon Bello Garba Yabo.
He said already, a comprehensive list of the beneficiaries, with the mode
of business they are engaged in, has been compiled by the Sokoto State
Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SOSMDA).
“We intend to reach as many people as possible in all the nooks and
crannies of the state. But for a start, we have identified 25,000 women
who will get a minimum of N10,000 and the disbursement will commence at
the shortest possible time.
“Because it is loan, we will task all you to repay it at a time to be
agreed by all parties,” he added.
Tambuwal said similar gesture will be extended to farmers, youth groups
and other members of the public.
“We hope to enhance the capital base of our beneficiaries and for the
women, we want them to become more self-reliant, while at the same time
providing them with opportunity to contribute their quotas to the economic
growth of the state,” he stated.
In an interview with journalists after the event, the Governor said he
believes creating job opportunities, especially through construction, and
injection of more money into the economy remains a sure way out of the
current recession in the country.
”Ask any Economist about the way out of recession, and I am sure they will
inform you that massive construction efforts, backed by release of funds,
will create jobs whose multiplier effects will jumpstart the economic
barometer,” he added.