By SAM JONES
YENAGOA (Sundiata Post) – Bayelsa State Commissioner for Women, Children Affairs, Empowerment and Social Development, Hon. Faith Opuene, has disclosed that the state governor, Senator Douye Diri, is empowering Bayelsans to take back the economy of the state.
Hon. Opuene stated this at the monthly Women and Youths Empowerment Programme in Yenagoa on Tuesday where each beneficiary receives N200,000 to enable them grow and expand their businesses.
She said the governor wants the beneficiaries to grow their businesses so that they can compete with their counterparts from other parts of the country.
According to her, she once experienced shock in 2012 when all the shops in the capital, Yenagoa where closed as the owners celebrated their day.
A total of 2,310 women and youths have benefited from the empowerment programme since it commenced in February last year.
She explained that each month a male and female are selected from each of the 105 wards across the eight local government areas of the state making a total of 210 beneficiaries monthly.
The commissioner said as a result of the cashless policy beneficiaries will not receive cash and enjoined them to furnish her office with their bank details for the money to be transferred to their accounts.
She advised them on judicious use of the money and warned them not to use any part of the money as gratification to those who selected them for the programme.
Hon. Opuene warned that beneficiaries can only participate in the programme once hence the multilevel screening being carried out to weed out those who have benefited in the past.
On the increment of the fund to N100 million by Governor Diri, she explained: “The governor has just increased it, but the cash is not yet with us. I have not even met him to get the directive, so I can’t answer you even. He has made a pronouncement, but there are some processes. What we are paying now is December.”
