At a ceremony organized for the beneficiaries at Ado Ekiti, the state capital yesterday by the State coordinator of NAPEP, Chief Ayo Omodara, the beneficiaries drawn from 10 of the 16 Local Governments in the State were told that they would receive N5000 each for 12 months after which they be entitled to about N100, 000 free at the end of the year.

The programme tagged “In care of the people (COPE)”, according to Chief Omodara, was aimed at reducing poverty among the people, especially, the poor households.

Commending the programme, Governor Segun Oni, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Sikru Tae Lawal, who himself is the Chairman of Implementation Committee of the programme, said the initiative would go a long way in ameliorating poverty in the State.

Governor Oni who charged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the money however bemoaned defaulters of the State Micro Credit Scheme, urging them to pay up to enable other people to benefit from the scheme too.

The governor disclosed that over N1 billion was disbursed to the Micro Credit beneficiaries but expressed dissatisfaction about the low repayment of the loans.

Governor Oni nevertheless reiterated the commitment of his administration to reduction of poverty among the people, stressing that all hands must be on deck to achieve the objective. 

He promised that widows in the State would benefit immensely from the next phase of the micro credit scheme.

The governor, who noted that women were the engine-room of development in any society, urged the widows to be hard-working and eschew indolence to ensure that various incentives given to them by government were judiciously used for the benefits of their immediate families and society at large.

He promised further assistance to women in the State, noting that women in developing countries like Nigeria were faced with various challenges.

The governor declared that his government would undertake various measures to ensure that nursing mothers in the State did not suffer.

He said that the Blue Centres (Hospitals) established across the State by his administration were aimed at reducing maternal mortality in the State, adding  that his government would continue to provide necessary facilities and drugs needed for the smooth running of the centres.