Lagos State Lifted Indigent Women With N20,000 Cash Grant

The Lagos State government, through its Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) has lifted about 500 indigent residents with N20,000 cash grant to supplement their small scale businesses.

The gesture was to celebrate the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty as recognised by the United Nations (UN). The theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Building Forward Together: Ending Persistence Poverty, Respecting all People and our Planet’.

The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Cecilia Dada, noted that the day is celebrated to identify the efforts and struggle of people living in poverty, and giving them a chance at life.

She said: “Food has become very expensive by 70 per cent for most Nigerians. In over one year now, beans, a common commodity for the average Nigerian, has risen to three times its former price. Shall we say the dollar rate affects our local foods too? I will say poverty is not solely an economic issue but, rather, our individual problems that disturbs our means of earning a livelihood.

“Therefore, it is important for us as a responsive government to address the poverty in our noble state by introducing empowerment programmes to support indigents and vulnerable women in line with our ministry’s vision to sustainably reduce poverty in Lagos State.

“There is a social register with the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget from which be pick beneficiaries whenever we have programmes like this. The register contains names of indigent Lagosians who need government’s intervention.

“We have a monitoring department in the ministry and agents in the local governments to ensure beneficiaries do the right thing, and also to measure our success and impacts.”

The commissioner urged beneficiaries of this year’s token to make good use of the opportunity.

“Don’t despise the days of little beginnings. Our facilitator has told you 20 businesses you can do with 20,000. Please make the effort count,” she added.

A beneficiary, Mrs. Yemisi Oresanwo, is double sure the N20,000 would boost her retail business the more.

She said: “This is my first time of being a WAPA beneficiary and I am glad for this initiative. I sell recharge cards, pure water and pet drinks. I will use this money to stock my shop with more products.

“It is not good to stay at home. The N20,000 is like millions because nothing is too small to start a business with. I also implore my fellow women to not wait for big money to start a business, start with the little you have so your children can eat, forget about aso-ebi and other fancy things for now.”