Humanitarian Minister Inaugurates Grant Scheme in Bauchi, Disburses Funds to 5,679 Beneficiaries

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development of Nigeria has rolled out a new grant scheme, Grant for Vulnerable Groups programme (GVG), to assist the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians in rural and peri-urban areas in Bauchi State.

At the flag-off of the disbursement of the grant to the vulnerable groups and other programmes in Bauchi yesterday, the Minister,  Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, said the state has the highest slots in the country, which is necessary to addressing the impact of insurgency, banditry and the large volume of IDPs in the state.

According to the minister, the ministry has distributed N20,000 each to 5,679 beneficiaries across the 20 local government areas of the state under the GVG programme

She said the GVG is the President Muhammadu Buhari manifesto fulfilment project, which was introduced in 2020, first as a grant to rural women only, but now to all vulnerable groups to sustain the social inclusion agenda of Buhari’s administration on the poor.

“Today, we are here to flag off the Grant for Vulnerable Groups programme (GVG) in Bauchi State and in three locations (i.e in Bauchi, Azare and Darazo).

“The GVG is a Buhari manifesto fulfilment project, which was introduced in 2020, first as a grant to Rural Women only, but now to all vulnerable groups to sustain the social inclusion agenda of President Buhari’s administration on the poor, which is consistent with his compassionate and deliberate national agenda of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.

“The GVG is designed to provide a one-off cash grant of N20,000 to the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians in rural and peri-urban areas across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) mainly to empower this special group to improve their productivity and the performance of their commercial activities, and ultimately ease them out of poverty.

“Let me add here that our target in Bauchi State is to disburse the grant to 5,679 beneficiaries across the 20 local government areas in the state. This is one of the highest slots in the country, which is necessary to address the impact of insurgency, banditry and large volume of IDPs in the state,” she said.

The minister noted further that President Buhari, through deliberate social inclusion agenda, has directed that 70 percent of these beneficiaries must be women, while the remaining 30 percent should go to youths.