Benue govt to get N13.7bn on FG empowerment programme

The social Investment Program of the Federal Government has allocated over N13.7 billion to Benue State under the Social Investment Programme.

The programme has also engaged 14,000 indigenes of Benue State under the Federal Government N-Programme and Home Grown Food Programme.

The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Samuel Ortom on Social Investment Programme, Honourable Terhide Utaan disclosed this to newsmen on Wednesday in his office in Makurdi.

The SSA further said that 9, 830 persons of the figure were engaged under N-program while 4,150 absorbed under Home Grown Food Programme.

Utaan explained   that the N-Power programme targets unemployed graduate youths who have been already recruited to teach in public primary schools across the state earning N30,000, adding that the home grown feeding, which is facilitated by the London School of Hygiene is meant to improve on the nutrition of school pupils across the state.

“There is also, the market programme, which aims to improve the status of the lowest cadre of market women who are supposed to be given between N10,000 to N100,000 through cooperative societies to inject into their business. We have the conditional cash transfer meant for the poorest and vulnerable persons to be given N5,000. This programme is ongoing in nine local government areas of the State.

“There are lots of misunderstanding in the implementation of the programme. People are just engaged in mischief. We do not handle any money. It comes directly from the Federal Government through the office of the Vice President,” Utaan said.