File: Nasarawa Governor, Abdullahi Sule

The Executive Chairman of the Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board, Dr Kassim Muhammed-Kassim, has empowered 75 less-privileged men and women from the Nasarawa North Senatorial District with N18.7m in business grants to improve their livelihoods.

The state Governor, Abdullahi Sule, who flagged off the distribution of the funds to the beneficiaries on Saturday in Akwanga Local Government Area, said the gesture would strengthen small businesses, improve traders’ access to capital and stimulate grassroots economic growth across the district.

The governor, who commended the NSUBEB chairman for giving back to society, urged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the funds by starting petty businesses.

He also prayed that the beneficiaries would grow the N250,000 each received into N250m.

“This is about the highest empowerment programme I have seen so far where each person benefited N250,000, so I sincerely want to thank Dr Kassim for such a wonderful gesture,” he said.

Speaking earlier, the NSUBEB chairman said he did not know any of the beneficiaries personally, explaining that they were selected based on findings about those who would be prudent with the empowerment funds.

He urged the beneficiaries to start businesses with the money, noting that the funds were not meant for campaigns and that the selection was not based on party membership.

The SUBEB chairman explained that he raised the funds from the proceeds of selling clothes to schools in Ghana, adding that if he could succeed through the venture, others could also succeed with the financial assistance.

“This gesture is designed to provide direct support to the less-privileged members of the society who do not have any means of livelihood to start up a business in order to cushion the effect of the prevailing economic challenges.

“I, therefore, want to appeal that every beneficiary should invest the funds wisely so that they can grow their businesses and create greater prosperity for their families,” he said.

He further assured the gathering that he would soon embark on another empowerment programme, providing N50,000 each to 300 people selected from Wamba, Akwanga and Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Areas.

Our correspondent reports that some of the beneficiaries, including Usman Mohammed, Peter Joe and Ahmed Usuf, appreciated the SUBEB chairman for remembering the less-privileged people in the area and prayed for his continued success.

They also assured him that they would use the money for the purpose for which it was provided, saying this would justify his efforts and help create more opportunities for less-privileged people across the state.