By BANNERNEWS Reporter, Calabar
The Cross River State Government has commenced the training of officials who will drive its social intervention programme across the state’s 196 political wards.
The capacity-building exercise, organised through the Office of Social Intervention and Investment Programme, targets 221 facilitators comprising 196 Ward Development Officers (WDOs) and 25 Local Government Liaison Officers.
State Coordinator of the programme, Dr Edem Okokon Effiom, disclosed this while speaking with journalists after the training workshop for participants from the Southern Senatorial District in Calabar.
Effiom said the exercise would be extended to the Central and Northern Senatorial Districts to equip officers with the skills required to implement the programme effectively at the grassroots.
He explained that the training is designed to strengthen the capacity of Ward Development Officers to identify social intervention needs in their respective communities and ensure efficient delivery of government support.
According to him, the initiative is aimed at advancing Governor Bassey Otu’s “People First” agenda by expanding the state’s social safety net to vulnerable and hard-to-reach residents.
He disclosed that 87 Ward Development Officers and nine Local Government Liaison Officers from the Southern Senatorial District participated in the first phase of the training held over the weekend.
Effiom said each of the state’s 196 wards would have 150 beneficiaries under the programme, with 100 people receiving direct cash transfers while another 50 would benefit from one-off empowerment support.
He added that beneficiaries would be selected from communities across the wards without discrimination based on political affiliation, stressing that members of churches, the Muslim community and other groups would all be eligible for consideration.
Tag: Empowerment
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Cross River Begins Training of Ward Officers for Statewide Social Intervention Programme
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Don’t Sell Empowerment Vehicles, Ekpenyong Warns Beneficiaries
By BANNERNEWS Reporter, Calabar
Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong has cautioned beneficiaries of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) empowerment scheme against selling the tricycles and mini buses distributed to them, urging recipients to use the vehicles as tools for long-term economic survival.
The senator gave the warning on Saturday during the NDDC Keke Napep and mini bus empowerment programme held at the U.J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar, where hundreds of beneficiaries received vehicles and cash grants aimed at boosting small-scale transport businesses and tackling unemployment.
No fewer than 200 tricycles, 150 mini buses and N250,000 cash grants for 500 beneficiaries were distributed during the exercise.
Ekpenyong said the initiative was designed to create sustainable livelihoods for youths and families across Cross River South Senatorial District through transportation and entrepreneurship support.
According to him, the intervention was facilitated through partnerships with federal agencies, including the Niger Delta Development Commission and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria.
He explained that the programme also aligned with efforts to complement the development agenda of Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu.
“We are here to train our young men and women on skills acquisition, give grants to support businesses and also empower our people with capital items ranging from minibuses to Keke Napep,” the senator said.
“All these were made possible through support from agencies at the federal level. I plead with beneficiaries not to sell these items. Do not kill the goose that lays the golden egg.”
Ekpenyong noted that proper management of the vehicles would guarantee beneficiaries steady income and improved living conditions over time, stressing that the programme marked the beginning of more empowerment initiatives in the Niger Delta region.
Speaking on behalf of the NDDC Executive Director, Projects, Victor Antai, the commission’s Cross River State Director, Daniel Ajunwa, said the intervention would productively engage youths and help curb criminal activities.
Ajunwa added that the programme reflected the commitment of the commission and partnering agencies to grassroots development and entrepreneurship support.
Also speaking, the NDDC Director of Commercial and Industrialisation, Linda Okara, disclosed that beneficiaries were selected through stakeholder recommendations to ensure transparency and community participation.
One of the beneficiaries, Arit Agbor, described the initiative as timely, saying it would help many unemployed youths become self-reliant. -
Empowerment Drive: FCT Minister, Nasarawa Politician Support Women, Vulnerable Groups
By BANNERNEWS Reporter
In separate empowerment interventions across Kano and Nasarawa states, political leaders have distributed cash, equipment, and food items to thousands of beneficiaries, reinforcing efforts to support women, youths, and vulnerable groups.
In Kano, the Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr. Mariya Mahmoud Bunkure, on Saturday flagged off a mega empowerment programme benefiting 4,064 residents, mostly women and youths.
Dr. Mahmoud said the initiative, which was funded from her personal resources, was aimed at supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda on inclusive growth and poverty reduction.
Items distributed included six cars, 35 motorcycles, 200 spaghetti-making machines and flour, 200 grinding machines, 400 bags of fertiliser, 1,000 bags of rice, 30 wheelchairs, 200 sewing machines, and N30,000 cash grants to 2,000 beneficiaries.
She described the programme as a platform for restoring dignity and unlocking potential, assuring that the exercise marked only the beginning of a sustained empowerment drive.
The minister also commended women and youths for their role in strengthening the ruling party, noting that community development thrives where women are empowered.
Speaking at the event, Minister of State for Education, Dr. Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, said human development remains central to Tinubu’s agenda, revealing that the education ministry plans to empower 250,000 Nigerians, with 100,000 already captured in the first phase.
Similarly, in Nasarawa State, an APC aspirant for Awe/Doma/Keana Federal Constituency, Hamasin Usman-Attah, distributed food items worth millions of naira to vulnerable residents of Agbashi community.
The gesture targeted widows, orphans, and the elderly, with Usman-Attah citing concern over societal challenges confronting women and vulnerable groups as her motivation.
She pledged to prioritise girl-child education, women empowerment, and social welfare if elected, while community members praised the initiative and urged other political actors to emulate the gesture.