Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru has approved the empowerment of 1,500 street hawkers who are indigenous citizens living in different parts of the country, including those in the state.
According to the Governor, the hawkers who will be trained in different skills will be empowered with a sum of N2 million after their training.
Commissioner for Information and State Orientation Jude Okpor disclosed this to Journalists on Thursday after the end of the State executive council meeting.
Okpor further noted that the Governor has also approved the payment of gratuities to retired civil servants from 1996 to 2021, which will cost over N4 billion.
He also noted that the executive council set up three committees to oversee the implementation of those approvals by the state government.
“In furtherance of the resolve of the people-oriented and purpose-driven administration of His Excellency, Rt Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, to lift the living standard of the majority of Ebonyians through Human Capital development policies, the Ebonyi State Executive Council also approved the payment of arrears of gratuity to retired civil servants from 1996 to 2021 with a cost implementation of over four billion naira (N4.3bn).
The council also directed that all issues involving those who are yet to receive the payment of their pension, which is still ongoing, be resolved without further delay.
“This magnanimous gesture of His Excellency aimed at ameliorating the suffering of our senior citizens will unarguably serve as a moral booster to workers who are still in service.
Exco members expressed their support for this decision with a standing ovation to His Excellency, the chairman of the council.
“It is to be recalled that Exco had earlier directed the Commissioner for Skill Development and Job Creation and his counterpart in the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Business Development to visit major cities in the country to bring back young Ebonyians indulging in street hawking and other menial jobs for training in skills and businesses of their choice.
“To further demonstrate the readiness of the Ebonyi State Government to drive the programme to a logical conclusion, the Exco approved an empowerment package of two million naira each for one thousand five hundred young Ebonyians involved in street hawking and other menial jobs both at home and across the major cities after graduation from the training.
The approval, which will cost the state over three billion naira (#3b), is to be implemented in three phases with five hundred (500) beneficiaries in each phase.
“Consequently, the State Executive Council approved the sum of two billion naira as initial capital for the implementation of this empowerment programme.
The training and subsequent empowerment of the first batch of five hundred beneficiaries will commence as soon as all the necessary frameworks are put in place”, he stated.
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