Bauchi Empowers 1,000 Women, Youths

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

The Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, has empowered no fewer than 1,000 women and youths from Itas-Gadau and Jama’re Local Government Areas of the state with cash and economic tools in his determination to shore up the standard of living of the people of the state.

The empowerment was done through the Kaura Economic Empowerment Programme (KEEP), which is an initiative of the Bauchi State Government to empower women and youths with incentives that would alleviate poverty and provide them with job opportunities in the state. The beneficiaries got motorcycles, grinding machines, sewing machines, makeup kits, shoe making machines among others.

Speaking during the empowerment programme at the two local government areas of the state, Governor Mohammed reiterated the commitment of his administration to gradually but relentlessly pursue economic empowerment programmes, aimed at alleviating the hardship of Bauchi citizens. The governor said that the KEEP has already been launched in Zaki, Gamawa, Ganjuwa, Darazo, Bogoro and Tafawa Balewa local government areas of the state, adding that Itas-Gadau and Jama’re Local Government has formally joined the economic employment train of taking the generality of the majority of the people of Bauchi out of poverty.

According to him, “I am therefore pleased to be here today to preside over the launching of this programme in these two local government areas of the state. Having achieved a major progress in the transformation of the infrastructure landscape of the state through the construction of roads, hospitals, schools and other services, it is the desire of our administration to also focus on the upliftment of the living standard of our people through this empowerment programme.”

He also explained that “as a responsive and responsible government, we are not unmindful of the need of the people to be economically empowered so as to optimally make use of the Infrastructures put in place. The empowerment programme is deliberately designed to holistically address the problem of unemployment and alleviation of poverty.

“We know that in this local government and other areas, we are providing starter packs of N50,000 each to 500 people per local government. We also provided three motorcycles to each of the wards of the 20 local governments and the beneficiaries are ward Chairmen, ward coordinators and ward leaders and I understand here that a vehicle has been provided by the chairman of the local government to one of the major stakeholder of the local government, this is commendable.

‘We also Provided N100,000 cash to women and youth leaders in each of the local government areas and five buses to each of the local governments in addition to other empowerment materials like sowing and grinding machines and others.”

The governor said that his administration is desirous of making life more meaningful to the people of the state, stressing that his government would continue to give all the necessary support to all the poverty alleviation and economic empowerment agencies to effectively and efficiently discharge their responsibilities.