₦20,000 Grant for Vulnerable Groups by Federal Government

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq on Thursday flagged off the Grant for Vulnerable Groups (GVG) and Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) in Plateau State with a call on the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the funds to improved their lives. Speaking in Jos, Farouq, represented by the Ministry’s Director of Humanitarian Affairs, Ali Grema disclosed that the programme is being implemented in close partnerships with the State Government.

The minister said it was a demonstration of a collective commitment to address poverty which is the core developmental challenge confronting the nation.

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The Minister said, “Let me state here that since the inception of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration in 2015, when it inherited a National Poverty Incidence level averaging 70% (NBS), the Federal Government has paid more attention to generating solutions to address the plight of the poor and vulnerable in the country despite other economic challenges the Administration inherited at the time.

“This informed the decision to initiate the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) in 2015 as a strategy for poverty reduction and enhancing social inclusion among our people especially the women in rural areas…

“Since the commencement of implementing the NSIP in 2016, it has impacted positively on many lives of the poor and vulnerable in Nigeria. The GVG programme was introduced in 2020 first as Grant for Rural Women (GRW) and launched in Jos, Plateau State in October 2020 to sustain the social inclusion agenda of President Buhari’s Administration.”

“It is consistent with his deliberate National agenda of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.”

She further explained that “The GVG was designed to provide a one-off grant, a cash grant of N20,000.00, to some of the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians in rural and peri-urban areas across the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, to empower the beneficiaries to improve their productivity and their commercial activities, mainly aimed at easing them out of poverty.

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“Our target in Plateau State is to disburse the grant to over 3,500 beneficiaries across the 17 Local Government Areas of the State, which is a significant increase from 1,928 beneficiaries in 2020. This is a clear demonstration of the Federal Government’s commitment to addressing poverty in the State.

“President Muhammadu Buhari, has directed that 70% of these beneficiaries must be women, while the remaining 30% is for the youths. He also directed that, at least 15% of the total number of beneficiaries must specifically be allocated to citizens with special needs, including Persons with Disability (PWDs) and Senior Citizens in the State.