FG Enables Economy as Vulnerable People are Empowered with 37,000 POS Machines

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

The federal government has begun distribution of 37,000 Point of Sale machines towards the empowerment of the vulnerable as part of moves to strengthen the Nigerian economy and cushion the effects of the high cost of living and inflation,
The device is used to add up and take payments for what has been purchased amongst other money making ventures, as well as the place at which transactions take place.

The Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy- Ohanenye, who disclosed this over the weekend in a town hall meeting with staff of the ministry, said in the distribution of the machines which would assist in putting food on tables and in the payment of school fees for children of the poor, 30 percent of the beneficiaries would be men while 70 per cent would be given to women.

The minister, who cleared some grey areas concerning some of her pronouncements when she assumed office, said if there were no visible impact on funds collected in the name of Nigerian women, then the money would become useless to the nation.
“Our duty in the ministry is not just to come and carry files around and do meetings and advocacies. Our main mission is to protect and save the lives of women and children. When it comes to children, men are part of our children and that’s why our job is to save and protect the nation, as well as feed the nation.
“I want to do the right thing and the ministry is eager to join me in doing the right thing. The POS will change the lives of many vulnerable. It will give them income per day to at least put food on their taxes and pay for their children to go to school, thereby giving them a voice they didn’t have before.
“When I came in newly as the minister of women affairs, I made some statements that Nigerians misunderstood, when I said if monies are brought in, in the name of Nigerian women, it should be accounted for. I didn’t mean coming to tell me what every dime was paid for, but for the funds to be felt in the lives of the vulnerable.
“If there are no impact, the money becomes useless to the nation. The more useless money is pumped into our nation, the more the economy cannot revive. I am not an economist, but I have an idea of what it is to buy, sell, gather and save,” she added.