At least 7,264 people will benefit from President Muhammadu Buhari regime’s Grant for Vulnerable Groups (GVG) in Borno.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, announced this on Wednesday while inaugurating the programme in Maiduguri.

Ms Farouq said the programme started in 2020 as a grant for rural women to sustain the social inclusion agenda of Mr Buhari in line with his commitment to lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.

“The GVG was designed to provide a one-off grant, a cash grant of N20,000, to some of the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians in rural and peri-urban areas across the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory,” stated the minister.

According to her, it will empower beneficiaries to improve their productivity and commercial activities to ease poverty.

“Let me add here that our target in Borno state is to disburse the grant to 7,264 beneficiaries across the 27 local government areas of the state. This is one of the highest slots in the country, and this is because we put into account the impact of insurgency and the large volume of IDPs in the state,” Ms Farouq explained.

She added that Mr Buhari had directed that 70 per cent of the beneficiaries must be women, while the remaining 30 per cent was for the youth.

The minister also mentioned that Mr Buhari directed that at least 15 per cent of the beneficiaries should be Nigerians with special needs, including persons with disabilities and older people in the state.

(NAN)