Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara has flagged off the disbursement of non-interest loans to another round of 30,000 beneficiaries under the state social investment programme.
This latest disbursement brings to 60,000 the number of persons that have so far benefitted from the loans since the launch of the scheme last year.
“Between 2020 and now, we have disbursed soft loans to 30,000 beneficiaries. Today’s event marks the commencement of a fresh disbursement of the loans to another set of 30,000 beneficiaries across Kwara State,” Governor Abdulrazaq said last week Wednesday while speaking at the grand activation of the Owo Isowo non-interest loans for beneficiaries from Kwara central.
According to him, the initiative attests to the administration’s policy of gender inclusion, women empowerment, and poverty alleviation, adding that “the beneficiaries of Owo Isowo and Owo Arugbo have been 90 percent women.”
He noted that the scheme, which comes in four categories, was designed to fight extreme poverty and stimulate small businesses by providing beneficiaries with interest-free loans.
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Abdulrazaq, however, said the Owo Arugbo component — which has some 10,000 beneficiaries across the state, seeks to support the elderly and the weak in a way that neither threatens their lives nor degrades their human dignity as senior citizens.
“The programmes seek to lift people from extreme poverty. KWASSIP comes in four components, including Owo Isowo and Owo Arugbo. Owo Arugbo supports our vulnerable elders in a dignified way. We have made sure that these elders do not have to lose their lives or human dignity before accessing this support from the government. That is one of those things that stand us apart from the dark era that Kwara has exited.
“A signature programme of KWASSIP is the Trader Moni, popularly known as Owo Isowo. It gives non-interest loans to beneficiaries to invest in petty business while also improving their capacity to create wealth for themselves. We borrowed this fine initiative from Mr. President. This has helped poor families to put food on their table,” he added.
The government implored the beneficiaries of the Owo Isowo loan to make judicious use of the support and ensure they pay back the money with a view to providing incremental loans for those who pay back to the tune of N50,000.
He assured the people that the administration will continue to support the downtrodden, poor and vulnerable with opportunities, financial support and capacity building programmes.
Mohammed Brimah, acting general manager, Kwara State Social Investment Programme (KWASSIP), noted that “the closest to this type of activation anywhere else in Nigeria was the Federal Government’s TraderMoni Activation of about 5,000 petty traders in Kaduna. Therefore, this is also the first time this magnitude of activation will be attempted anywhere in Nigeria till date.”
He added that the inclusion of BVN registration and validation for the beneficiaries of Kwara State’s Owo Isowo programme was not in the initial national social investment programme design of tradermoni.
