Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum yesterday disbursed N814.2 million empowerment support to 9,100 youths and vulnerable persons in the state.
Zulum who inaugurated the disbursement exercise in Maiduguri, said the support has been provided under the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) programme.
He said the gesture underscored his administration’s quest to minimise youth restiveness and empower them to become productive and self-reliant.
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The government, he said, empowered over 7,200 Small and Medium Enterprises in 2020, while 2,000 tricycle operators and 220 taxi drivers benefited from the gesture in Maiduguri and Jere Local Government Areas of the state.
He said: “We supported an appreciable number of auto mechanics and constructed a model state of art mechanic village. In 2021; 13,500 entrepreneurs had been supported with N500 million in Gwoza, Ngala and Jere LGAs in efforts to boost their businesses. This magnanimous programme is geared towards providing soft loans amounting to N719.2 million to 9,100 SMEs under the NG-CARES Result Area 3,” he said.
He said that an additional N93 million would be disbursed to 54 beneficiaries due to the nature of their businesses which are not incorporated under NG-CARES scheme.