Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, has inaugurated the N1.5 billion youths and women empowerment progragramme tagged: “Kaura Economic Empowerment Programme (KEEP).”
Mohammed disclosed this at the official flag off of the empowerment programme on Saturday in Zaki Local Government Area of the state.
He said he decided to use the Democracy Day celebration, which is a special day in Nigeria, to kick-start the distribution of the economic strengthening items in the state.
The governor said the KEEP scheme was an initiative of the state government designed to empower youths and women.
He said that motorcycles and other economic strengthening items worth N75 million were provided for distribution to youths and women in Zaki.
The items included three cars, 54 motorcycles, several sewing and grinding machines.
“We will empower youths and women with incentives to alleviate poverty and provide them with job opportunities,” he said.
Mohammed explained that the gesture would be replicated in other 19 local government areas of the state, adding that this was in fulfillment of his campaign promises.
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“Our government has done so much in the area of infrastructure development, it is now expedient that we focus on how to also improve the lives of our citizens.
“We were being criticised that we have been constructing roads without considering the well-being of the citizens and because of the promise we have made, that is why we remained adamant on our quest to develop the state.
“These items we are distributing today is worth N75 million and we are going to extend the same gesture to all the remaining 19 local government areas of the state,” he said.
Mohammed urged the beneficiaries to ensure effective utilisation of the items to engage in productive activities to enable them to become employers of labour.
In a remark, Hajiya Aisha Mohammed, the wife of the governor, said that the empowerment programme would help women to be self-reliant.
She said the gesture would also afford mothers to enroll their children in schools as they now have businesses of their own.
NAN
