The Senior Special Assistant to the Nigerian President on the Millennium Development Goals, Dr Precious Gbeneol

The Federal Government said on Sunday that it has intensified its poverty eradication programme in Rivers State with the distribution of over 10,000 economic empowerment items to 3,650 households in the 23 Local Government Councils.

The gesture, according to the Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Millennium Development Goals, Dr. Precious Gbeneol, was in line with government’s determination to meet the 2015 MDGs deadline set by the United Nations.

A statement from the MDGs Office, in Abuja, noted that she spoke during the inauguration of MDGs economic empowerment and Conditional Cash Transfer Programmes held at Akpor Grammar School, Ozuoba Town in Obio/Akpor LGA of Rivers State.

Gbeneol, according to the statement, assured Nigerians of a sustainable income generation and wealth creation to eradicate poverty.

It also added that the Presidency had embarked on projects and programmes that will “have a direct economic bearing on the lives of the most venerable individuals in the society.”

The Presidential aide said the economic empowerment programme entails the distribution of items and commodities that will generate income for individuals and households when put in proper use.

She said, “The items distributed to empower the people with the aim of bringing poverty to the barest minimum include, tricycles, sewing machines, grinding machines and wheelbarrows, boats, buses and building materials among other consumables such as rice and beverages.

“The distribution of the items would be properly monitored and tracked by our office to ensure the application and use of the items for the purpose they are meant. In today’s occasion, over 10,000 of economic empowerment items and commodities are distributed to 21 Local Government Councils in the state.”

Gbeneol listed the items to include 210 tricycles, 21 eighteen sitter buses, 1,000 sewing machines, 500 grinding machines, seven speed boats and over 2,000 bags of rice.

Others were over 2,500 wrappers and over 500 bundles of roofing sheets with 210 heads of households also empowered to start trades that will ensure sustainable income generation.

Gbeneol posited that her office in collaboration with some banks also embarked on e-payment based consolidated conditional cash transfer to 3650 female headed households across the 23 local council areas in the state.

She said the beneficiaries received N5,000 monthly and another N100,000 as they exit the programme at the end of 12 months. In the conditional grant scheme to local track for 2013.

She said three agricultural based cooperatives society were given grants to invest in agricultural businesses with each of the societies receiving N500,000 each.

Source: National Network