“Lagos Gave Me Succour After Losing My Husband To COVID-19”
A recipient of the Lagos State COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (CARES), Mrs. Abibat Shittu has expressed her gratitude to the government for providing succour after losing her husband to the pandemic.
Shittu who lives in Agege area of Lagos said that life became so difficult after her husband’s demise and that she had nothing to take care of the children.
During the trying period, she applied for CARES and received N150, 000, which she used to start a new business.
She told Echonews when a monitoring team of CARES visited her place and that of other beneficiaries to know how their businesses were faring at the weekend.
She said, “The programme is indeed a great one because it has taken me out of penury and I can feed my family now. After a soft skill training by the government, I invested the N150, 000 in my grocery business and God has been blessing me.”
Speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), Mrs. Oluyemi Kalesanwo affirmed that 2,868 recipients of the Lagos (CARES) Programme have received operational grants between N80,000 – N200,000 as aids to boost their respective businesses affected by the pandemic.
Kalesanwo said that the government was out to assess the economic progress of the intervention programme under the Delivery Platform DLi 1:3 which is being coordinated by the Ministry, as part of the Nigerian COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus( NG – CARES) programme , for vulnerable residents.
across the State.
While reiterating the number of settlements impacted by the initiative, the Permanent Secretary stated that beneficiaries selected from all the 20 Local Government Areas had been empowered, with 2,868 recipients receiving between N60,000-N200,000 as operational grants to boost their respective businesses.
In his remarks, the Head of the State Coordinating CARES Unit, Mr. Basit Baruwa explained that the programme has been up-scaled to an impactful scheme which deliberately supports beneficiaries whose businesses were negatively affected by the economic downturn.
His words, “The beneficiaries were selected from the data that has all details of the vulnerable residents who reside in Lagos State through the Social Register. The success story of the intervention programme under the Livelihood Support Platform has surpassed its target by 40% due to the impressive turnout of participants. More people are expected to benefit in coming months from the initiative since the programme has been extended till June 2024”.
According to her, “This programme is a huge relief for vulnerable people like me. It came when I most needed it and has impacted my business tremendously. I want to sincerely thank the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for this opportunity. I pray this is sustained as an intervention programme for other residents”.
