South East women laud Buhari, Umar Farouq over social security investments

Women under the auspices of the Amalgamated Union of Market Women Societies in the South East, have commended President Muhammadu Buhari on his social security investments in the geo-political zone of the country, saying the development shows the president’s love for the Igbo.

This was as the market woman also applauded the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouq, for driving the social investment initiatives of the Buhari-led administration.

According to them, the social investment programmes (SIPs) of the federal government, especially the N-Power, have continued to impact positively on the lives of South East women, many of whom have established businesses across the states.

Speaking with a team of South East Support for N-Power and Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs (SESNAM), zonal secretary of the women union, Mrs Okoronkwo Blessing, said members were overjoyed by the interventions, even as she encouraged other beneficiaries to come out for identification.

While expressing satisfaction with the implementation of the various social intervention programmes across the states, the association urged Igbo to develop confidence in the current administration, in the interest of unity and peaceful co-existence.

She disclosed that at least ten thousand women have so far benefited from the N20, 000 intervention scheme in each of the affected states.

“Today, we (members of the Amalgamated Union of Market Women Societies in the South East), wish to pass a vote of confidence on all the social security interventions of the Nigerian government, propelled by the ministry of humanitarian affairs and disaster management, especially for the unbiased manner of implementation as demonstrated in the South East,” Okoronkwo said.

“Here in the South East, when the (N20,000) individual grant scheme was launched, the South East women were the first set of beneficiaries.”

The scheme was launched in Ebonyi State with all stakeholders present.

“As mothers, we owe the president a duty to commend his efforts in offering social support to Nigerians,” Okoronkwo said.

“We are, therefore, thankful for the special attention that we have received in the South East, as manifested in the social security intervention programmes.

“It is noteworthy to say that, the ministry of humanitarian affairs and disaster management has enhanced other programmes such as conditional cash transfer (CCT) N-POWER and a host of other Covid-19 interventions in the South-East zone,” Okoronkwo said.

The gesture, she noted, was a demonstration of the unity of purpose by the government.

The group said it was confident that President Buhari would achieve the objective of lifting the targeted one hundred million people out of poverty in the next decade.