It was jubilation galore for female farmers in Delta state on Thursday as forty of them received grants worth N10m from the wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, and first lady of Delta, Deaconess Tobore Oborevwori to boost their agro-businesses.
Also, 1,200 indigent households received food items from the duo at an event held at an event center in Asaba.
The disbursement of the funds and distribution of household consumables which was sponsored by the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) of Senator Tinubu, in collaboration with the ‘You Matter Charity Foundation’ of Deaconess Oborevwori, is targeted at mitigating the hardship currently being faced by citizens.
Speaking during the presentation ceremony, Deaconess Oborevwori, who represented Mrs Tinubu, said: “Recently, our mother was here to flag off the grant of N100,000 each for petty traders and now it is the turn of indigent women in the state.
“We can see that the Renewed Hope Initiative of the wife of the President is greatly concerned about the plight of Nigerians and has put in place this programme to alleviate the economic stress of women who will in turn reach out to their families. We received 1,200 bags of 25kg of rice which will be distributed today”.
She said the beneficiaries were carefully selected from across the 25 local government areas, adding that the state Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, added 1,200 cartons of noodles, 1,200 cooking oil (1litre each), and other consumables to the 1,200 bags of rice received from the federal level.
She encouraged Deltans not to lose hope in the face of the harsh economic realities but to stay positive about the situation through sincere prayers and acts of charity.
The Governor’s wife encouraged the farmers who received N250,000 each to utilize the cash grant wisely to further secure their businesses.
In her words; “do not eat your seed so that you can be sure of a harvest tomorrow”, admonishing Deltans to lend a helping hand to those around them to help cushion the effects of the trying times.
Earlier in their goodwill messages, the Commissioners for Women Affairs, Community and Social Development; Humanitarian Affairs, Community Support Services & Girl- Child Development and Agriculture, Princess Pat Ajudua, Hon Orode Uduaghan, and Barr. Val Arenyeka commended the First Ladies for their acts of compassion.
According to them, the disbursement and distribution were testaments to the impact of effective collaboration and partnerships, while they encouraged the beneficiaries to judiciously make use of what they have received.
The beneficiaries expressed appreciation and prayed for the well-being of their benefactors.
One of the beneficiaries of the N250,000 farmers’ grant, Hope Egbogbare, who hails from Ozoro, Isoko North Local Government Area, said she did not expect such an amount at this point of her life while expressing confidence that the cash would go a long way in enlarging her poultry business.
One of those who received the food items, Mrs Justina Emelue, expressed her appreciation adding, “The food will help me and my children now because things are very expensive in the market”.
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