16 hours ago
1
Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has empowered no fewer than 4,912 underserved women across the state through the “A Kori Taluachi” poverty alleviation programme.
The programme, which is part of the governor’s efforts to promote economic independence and self-sufficiency among women, has provided financial assistance ranging from N50,000 to N300,000 to the beneficiaries.
The governor’s Principal Private Secretary, Prof. Ayuba Bello, stated this during an interactive session with journalists in Kaduna on Thursday.
According to him, “A Kori Taluachi” programme is a key component of the state government’s poverty alleviation strategy.
“The support ranged from N300,000, N200,000, N150,000, N100,000, to N50,000. The A Kori Talauchi programme, led by the Kaduna State Government, empowered 4,912 underserved women across the state,” he said.
Bello noted that the programme is designed to provide financial assistance to women who are struggling to make ends meet.
“The governor is committed to empowering women and promoting economic independence among them. The ‘A Kori Taluachi’ programme is one of the ways we are achieving this goal,” he said.
He added that Sani’s administration has also supported 100 food vendors during the Kaduna Food Festival, which took place in April 2024.
The move, he said, was expected to boost the local economy and provide opportunities for small-scale entrepreneurs.
In addition, he said the state government has instituted a revolving loan scheme to enable civil servants to meet their financial needs.
The scheme, which has a seed fund of N500 million, offers loans at a single-digit interest rate of 5%.
“The initiative is to promote access to funds for civil servants to meet financial obligations. We believe that this will help to improve their standard of living and reduce their financial burdens,” Bello said.
Besides, Bello noted that the state government has also made significant progress in clearing pension arrears, with approximately N4.7 billion paid out for death and gratuity benefits.
“As servants of the people, the Uba Sani Government places a great premium on accountability. Transparency and accountability are not principles to be trifled with.
“In fact, the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity Watch (CeFTPIW) recently ranked Kaduna State as the first sub-national in its Transparency and Public Integrity Index.
‘The state also came second out of 36 states in the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria’s Accountability and Transparency Index, reflecting its commitment to transparency, accountability, and effective resource utilisation.
“We are proud of our achievements in promoting transparency and accountability. We believe that this is essential for good governance and the delivery of quality services to our citizens,” Bello added.
Continuing, the PPS added that the governor’s policy of financial inclusion and widening the tax net has also led to an improvement in the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) profile.
Quoting the National Bureau of Statistics, Kaduna State raked in N62.49 billion in IGR last year, emerging as the state with the highest IGR earnings in the north.
“The governor’s policy of financial inclusion and widening the tax net has been successful in improving our IGR profile. We believe that this will enable us to deliver more quality services to our citizens and promote economic development in the state,” Bello said.
He added that the rural transformation programme of the Kaduna State Government has also improved voluntary tax compliance because people can see how their money is being spent.
“Besides, KADIRS is effectively deploying technology in its operations to ensure effective service delivery to taxpayers. A major component of the Uba Sani Governance Agenda is nurturing citizens’ engagement, with a view to carrying the people along in decision-making processes, especially on how their resources are allocated,” Bello said.
English (US) ·