The Nation Newspaper

Tag: disburses

  • Jaiz Zakat disburses N40m to 1119 beneficiaries

    Jaiz Zakat disburses N40m to 1119 beneficiaries

    No fewer than 1,119 persons yesterday received cash and materials worth N40,146,000 from the Jaiz Zakat & Waqf Trust Fund (JZWTF) as zakat (alms) proceeds.

    The beneficiaries, drawn from Southeast, Southsouth, Northeast and Northcentral (Abuja), were given the items at a ceremony at the Conference Hall of the National Mosque, Abuja.

    JZWTF Executive Director Imam Abdullahi Shuaib, who presented the items, lamented the increasing poverty rate in the country.

    Shuaib regretted that access to qualitative and affordable housing, medical and educational services were out of the reach of the poor, who, he said, accounted for 98.52 per cent of Zakat funds beneficiary.

    Wealthy Nigerian Muslims, he noted, could make a difference in the lives of the less-privileged by paying their Zakat when due and encouraging others to donate generously.

    Explaining how the distribution went, he said N4.9million was disbursed in the Southeast, N3.6 million in the Southsouth, N28 million in Northeast while Abuja in Northcentral got N3.5 million.

    He said: “The Zakat allotment in the Northeast increased and even doubled what we disbursed in both the Southeast and Southsouth regions as indicated. The reasons for this were not far-fetched. We had to contend with the continued increase in the population of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), victims of Boko Haram that needed to be resettled and reconnected back to their natural habitat and the adverse effects of poverty in the region.”

    Imam Shuaib urged all beneficiaries to use their Zakat fund and items judiciously and also redouble their efforts so that they too can begin to support others in the years ahead.

    JZWTF Acting Chairman Alhaji Umaru Abdul Mutallab, said the Abuja edition marked the beginning of the birth of a new dawn in the Zakat and Awqaf sector in the country.

    Alhaji AbdulMutallab said: “We are poised and committed to take Zakat and Awqaf administration to greater heights throughout the length and breadth of the country. Our focus is to impact positive values in the lives of the common man as well as uplift the living standards and care of the poor and the most vulnerable people in the country. Hence, the choice of our core values with the acronym CARE which stands for Competency, Accountability, Reliability and Empowerment of the less-privileged which implies our affection and compassion.

  • BOI disburses N800b to SMEs in seven years

    BOI disburses N800b to SMEs in seven years

    The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Bank of Industry (BoI), Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, says the bank has disbursed a total of N800bn to the Small and Medium Enterprises in the country in the last seven years.

    He said that the figure represented a significant improvement from what the bank used to disburse.

    Olaoluwa spoke in Lagos at a symposium organised to mark the 50th birthday of the Chief Executive Officer, RTC Advisory Services Limited, Mr. Opeyemi Agbaje.

    He said, “What we have seen in the case of the Bank of Industry is that we have a model that appears to be succeeding. For example, in our intervention in the Small and Medium Enterprises space, our cumulative disbursement of loans was less than N30bn up till 2009. But from 2009 till date, we are looking at about N800bn.”

    He stressed that the BoI was strategising to ensure that it sustained the momentum in order to have an institution that would last.

    “An institution that will survive its chief executive officer; that can ensure that when loans are granted, they are repaid; an institution that can ensure that technologies are adopted; that can ensure that the institutions are properly run in terms of governance, compliance and so on,” he added.

    The CEO further noted that bad loans were part of the challenges responsible for the failure and eventual liquidation of past development banks.

    Speaking on the status of Nigerian banks, the BoI boss said they had undergone “tremendous changes” in the last decade, beginning with the banking industry consolidation that led to the emergence of 20 strong banks in 2004.

    Olaoluwa said, “Before then, domestic banks mustered the strength to finance anything close to mega transactions. But today, we find Nigerian banks facing transactions in their billions. That is a significant development. We used to rely on foreign banks to come and lead syndication in our domestic transactions. Now, we are able to do that. A lot of banks have really become very strong in terms of their institutional capacity building.”

    Domestic banks, he said, had developed capacity and strength in risk management, adoption of technology, and general competence among staff members.

    According to him, the development has led to improved service delivery across the board.

  • NDE disburses N1.5m to trainees in Adamawa

    The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has disbursed N1.5 million soft loans to three beneficiaries of its Advance Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) in Adamawa State.

    The Adamawa State Coordinator of NDE, Mallam Aliyu Abubakar, stated this in an interview.

    Abubakar said the three beneficiaries got N500, 000 each under the Enterprise Creation Loan Scheme.

    “Plan has been concluded to disburse such loans to another set of four young men and women”, he said.

    Abubakar also said 50 persons would be trained on modern agriculture under the directorate’s Rural Agricultural Training Scheme (RADTS).

    He said the directorate recently engaged 450 unemployed youths to acquire skills in 10 different trades at the NDE Skills Acquisition Centres located in the three senatorial zones in the state.

    “Just last week, we celebrated 10 trainees who graduated from the Environment Beautification Scheme (EBTS) and 15 who graduated from the Solar Energy Training Scheme.

    “These trained persons were given tools that would launch them into self-employment.

    “To underscore the importance of women engagement in economic activities, the women employment branch of the directorate is at the last state of disbursing micro-enterprise loans to some women in the state” Abubakar said.

    He lauded the commitment and support of Adamawa government and NGOs in setting up empowerment programmes to complement NDE efforts in the state.

    Abubakar advised unemployed youths in the state to avail themselves of the various empowerment opportunities being provided to combat poverty.

  • Fadama disburses N272m to 72 groups

    No fewer than 72 Fadama User Groups in Kwara have benefited from a N272 million facility disbursed by the Fadama Office in the state, the Coordinator, Mr Usman Akanbi, has said .

    Akanbi, told reporters in Ilorin that the project is being implemented successfully in the state as more farmers are benefitting from the World Bank-assisted project. Akanbi said the scheme has created about 2,292 temporary jobs for the unemployed in the state.

    However, he said that the project was rounding up by December and that Kwara and Plateau have been adjudged the best in the implementation of the programme.

    Akanbi said that small-scale farmers were developed under the second and third phases of the programme, especially in the area of storage and processing of farm produce.

    The coordinator said Fadama User Groups had successfully increased their income by 40 per cent.

    Also speaking, Chief Jacob Aina, the Environmental Officer in the office, said that the programme had mobilised about 1,120 project operators across the state to interact and sensitise small-scale farmers on how to increase their input.

    Aina said that farmers in all aspects of agriculture had received training on environment, air, water and noise pollution as well as enlightenment on the best method of tackling such problems.

    “Fadama project had made it possible for these illiterate farmers to convert waste to wealth, especially animal droppings, cowpea and rice husks into valuable resources,” he said.

    He, however, said that the project was facing several challenges, including funding.

    “We also see people diverting the money intended to boost agriculture into their pockets.

    “These people think they are also having a piece of the national cake,” he said.