Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Zulum, has doled out about N63 million to 846 persons, mostly elderly low income persons.
According to a statement on Tuesday by Zulum’s spokesman, Isa Gusau, the governor, on Monday, gave a total sum of N62,750,000 to 846 elders and labourers providing services at Bolori Stores, a popular area in Maiduguri, where trailers offload and move variety of wholesale food and non-food products from the state to other parts of Nigeria and neighbouring countries.
Gusau said the gesture was in continuation of the governor’s sustained economic packages aimed at enhancing livelihoods and building resilience of citizens as part of counter-insurgency measures.
He disclosed that of the 846 beneficiaries, Zulum presented N100,000 each to 409 elderly low income persons operating around the stores, some of whom, for many years, have been into manual labour. The elders jointly received a total of N40.9 million.
He said the governor also presented N50,000 each to 437 younger labourers made up of 387 men and 50 women. They jointly received a total of N21.8 million.
Zulum urged the recipients to use the cash for micro businesses with a view to increasing their sources of income.
He described the labourers as highly productive population whose line of work helps in making available basic necessities needed by all categories of citizens across the state.
The governor noted that their activities significantly contribute to the state’s economy, noting that many trailers arrive and depart Bolori Stores every day to bring in food and non-food items into the state and move similar products to other parts of Nigeria and neighbouring countries.
The Commissioner for Sports and Youths Empowerment, Saina Buba, whose ministry coordinated the intervention, said Zulum had supervised similar empowerment programmes in different parts of the state.
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