Amaechi calls for more women empowerment
*Minister of Transportation, Mr Chibuike Amaechi
(Nigeria) Minister of Transportation, Mr Chibuike Amaechi, has said
that women should be given more of the empowerment opportunities made available
by the Federal Government as they are good managers of resources.
Amaechi during the empowerment of women and youth programme
in Rivers State by the National Directorate of Employment, NDE, and the Office
of the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, said “5000 persons will be given loans without
interest. Between N100,000 to N5million. What it means is that both male and
female will receive this money to do business. Out of the 5000 names, let's
give 3000 women, because they are good managers.
“I didn't say free loan, I said interest free loan. It means
that you’ll pay back. We must see your business plan or proposal, we must see
how it works and know whether we'll be able to recover the money. Why we say no
interest is so that you're not put under pressure.”
He expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for the
initiative of empowering Rivers people with business loans and vocational
skills acquisition.
“We are grateful to the Minister of State for Labour,
the DG, NDE and the President. They have told me how much they are bringing
into Rivers State, N750 million, anybody who cannot manage it cannot manage
anything. Its the first lesson we should learn that's why I said out of the
5000 names, we should look for 3000 women, not because they are women, but
because they manage better.
“Then there are 30 persons that will be trained per
local government by the NDE and they will be attached to Artisans to work with,
and the Federal Government will be paying you directly at the end of the
month,” he said.
“Then there are 30 persons that will be trained per LGA by
the NDE and they will be attached to Artisans to work with, and the Federal
Government will be paying you directly at the end of the month,” he said.
Amaechi appealed that the intervention should not be
carried out solely along party lines, but extended to everybody in the state.
“Let's involve everybody, don't do Party, because the President’s intention is
not just to lift APC members, but to lift PDP members as well as other
Nigerians. Here in Rivers State, there are as many PDP members that are hungry,
as there are APC members that are hungry, let's carry them along.”
Speaking at the event, Minister of State for Labour and
Employment, Festus Keyamo, SAN said, the greatest employment is self
employment. He expressed the President’s passion to empower Nigerians,
particularly the very poor through the scheme.
“This is one of the very many programmes by which the
President has given us marching orders to ensure that millions of people are
lifted out of poverty every year. In the Federal Executive Council, any memo
that comes to FEC, the first question the President asks is how many jobs will
this create for Nigerians? That is how concerned the President is about the
people.
“This is the first government in so many years that is so
concerned about the people in the lowest rung of the ladder and that is why the
President has targeted the very poor of the poor. This is why we are giving out
loans for people to start macro, small and medium scale businesses.
“The Honourable Minister of Transportation insisted that we
must come to Rivers State, don't forget that there states who have not
received, it is the doggedness and tenacity of the Minister that has brought us
here today,” Keyamo said.
Also speaking, Director General of the NDE, Dr. Nasir Ladan
said, “what we are going to do today is only the beginning of what we would do
in Rivers State. Our target is 25,000 and we will achieve it.”
In addition to the skills acquisition, monthly payment of
those being trained and the macro credit facility, 10,000 persons would also be
given 10,000 naira each for small businesses.
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