By Stephen Adeleye.

The State Cash Transfer (CCT) Unit, has trained beneficiaries of livelihood grants (DLI 1.3) who just received N150,000 each for effective implementation of the fund.

The livelihood grant is one of KG-CARES Cash Transfer Delivery Platform’s Interventions, giving to petty traders, artisans and small business owners to enable them upgrade and expand their businesses, improve their livelihoods and wellbeing.

Speaking to journalists at a post payment training for beneficiaries on “Livelihood Grants (DLI 1.3)”, on Saturday in Lokoja, Mr Kehinde Olorunmosunle, Head of  Delivery Platform for Social Transfer and Livelihood Grants, said the delivery platform is comprised of  Social Transfer and Livelihood Grants.

Olorunmosunle said a total of 585 persons have received the N150,000 across the 21 local government areas of Kogi State.

He said the beneficiaries were between the ages of 18 to 35 years, who are very agile people in the society and able to run around and do businesses.

“They are petty traders, artisans, hair dressers, baking business, fashion designers, among others.

“The training is meant to continue to remind the beneficiaries on the need to use the money for the purpose it was meant for,” he said.

He stressed that the fund was meant to expand their businesses, enlarge their coast to support and improve their livelihood and better their lives and families.

According to him, the essence of the training is to bring the beneficiaries under the Delivery Platform  together, after getting the N150,000 to train them on how to effectively utilise the fund.

“The beneficiaries had earlier been trained before getting the money where they were taught what were expected of them based on their businesses.

“We went around the communities to confirm the authenticity of their various businesses before releasing the grant to them.

“Immediately this money was given to them, we also moved into the communities to monitor how they utilise the fund.

“A sum of N150,000 was giving to individual. Some of the artisans bought tools and equipment to boost their work and many invested to expand their business,” he said.

He noted that the same training had been conducted for all the various zones such as Kabba, Central, Eastern and Lokoja zones to cover all beneficiaries in all the 21 LGAs.

He stressed that the Lokoja zone which comprised of Lokoja, Ajaokuta, Kogi and Bassa LGAs would be the last in the series of the training.

He advised the beneficiaries to continue to use the money for the intended purposes, urging them not to divert the fund to frivolities but to maximally utilise the opportunity to develop and build their capacity. 

He appreciated the State Government under the leadership of Gov. Yahaya Bello for the timely release of the fund which had enabled Kogi citizens to benefits from the grants.

He commended the Federal Government and the World Bank for the initiative, saying it had yielded tangible results in Kogi.

Some of the beneficiaries, Musa Abah, Rejoice Thomas, and Medinat Kabiru from Kogi, Ajaokuta and Lokoja respectively, all thanked the World bank, Federal and State Governments for the gesture.

Abah, a petty trader, said he got alert of N150,000 and used the money to upgrade and expand his business.

“We thanked the government for giving us this grant to improve our livelihoods because it has touched our lives greatly,” Abah said.

Rejoice, a saloonist, said she used the money to buy hand stretchers and dryers, attachments and weavons to sell. 

“Honestly, I am happy because my business has been progressing since I got the grant and my livelihood has improved,” Rejoice said.

On her part, Medinat, a trader who also operate Point of Sale (POS) business, said the grant has empowered her business.

“Before, I operated only POS but now I have started selling perfumes, shoes and other items. The grant has improved my life and that of my family.

“We thanked Gov. Yahaya Bello for the gesture in improving our livelihoods and that of our families. We are very grateful to God,” Medinat said.