By David Adeoye
Ibadan – Beneficiaries of the Cash Transfer Scheme known as Household Uplifting Programme (HUP) in Oyo state have lauded the efforts of the Federal Government in empowering rural women.
The beneficiaries gave the commendation when the head of the Oyo State Cash Transfer Unit, Mr Ezekiel Oladipo, and officials of the state government visited some of the beneficiaries.
The beneficiaries were visited in Abegunrin village in Owode-Ipapo, Itesiwaju Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The team was in the village to monitor the progress of the scheme and assess the impact of the scheme on the living standard of the beneficiaries.
Mrs Shakirat Adepoju, the leader of a cooperative organisation, whose members benefited from the initiative, noted that the scheme had drastically reduced poverty at the grassroots.
Adepoju said that the beneficiaries had used the proceeds gathered to set up rentals business as well as purchased cassava, corn and yam-flour grinding machines.
She implored both tiers of government to sustain the scheme in order to widen the scope of financial freedom for the women and youths in state and the nation in general.
“We are grateful to the Federal Government for bringing succor to us through the cash transfer scheme.
” We have achieved what we never believed as individuals to achieve in our lives, we have grinding machines with which we grind food materials like corn, cassava and yam flour for the people of the community.
”We return the gains to our collective purse as a cooperative society,” she said.
“I wish this programme is sustained and extended so that those that have not benefited will also benefit and there will be further reduction in the rate of poverty in our society, ” Adepoju said
Mr Wasiu Oketunde, the Cash Transfer Coordinator in the ocal government, commended the federal and state governments for the initiative.
Oketunde, who noted that the scheme would be sustained, added that it would also lift many households out of poverty.
“The cash transfer programme should not die, we want it sustained because it has really helped lots of rural women,” Oketunde said.
The State Commissioner for Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Alhaja Faosat Sanni, commended the cooperative groups for identifying the core needs of the community and channeling their project toward rental services and grinding businesses.
Sanni, who was represented by Mr Ezekiel Oladipo, also urged the beneficiaries to put in more efforts in expanding the project for their community’s benefits.
” I am highly impressed with their group and individual projects that they executed with the stipend of N10,000.
” They were able to manage their lives, the programme was designed to reduce poverty and socio economic vulnerabilities among poor households in the country,” she said.
(NAN)
