National Wire About Nigerians, Nigerian Business and Other Stories
Olabode Adaramola
About 100 males and females from differnt communities in Chanchaga Federal Constituency of Niger state were over the weekend in Minna Niger state capital, given 20kg. of beans, a bottle of powdered beans and the sum of N20,000 each by the member, House of Representatives, representing Chanchaga federal constituency at the National Assembly, Abuja, Hon. Umar Mohammed Bago, as part of his training and empowerment programmes in his Constituent units.
According to the Director, Media and Piblicity of Hon. Umar Mohammed Bago Foundation, Mrs. Deborah Azabe Amaechi, the distribution of the empowerment seeds, at the Abubakar Abdulsalam Youth Centre in Minna last Saturday, followed a 3- days training of the beneficiaries, mostly youths and and women in Beans Flours for value addition in Chanchaga Federal Constituency of the state, sponsored by the Federal Legislator.
She stated this in an interaction with the newsmen shortly after the programmes, adding that the recipients were specifically trained by resource persons from the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute, Ilorin Kwara state led by Mr. Olagbaju Akintayo who represented the Director General of the Institute, Prof. Olufemi Peters at the occasion between last Thursday October 19 and last Saturday October 21, 2019 at the venue.
According to the Director, Media and Publicity of Hon. Umar Mohammed Bago Foundation, “we followed our structure meticulously and picked people that were either jobless or who didn’t have anything they were doing, including those that needed empowerment or people that needed to hadid experience in different vocational trainings”.
She pointed out that the Hon. Umar Mohammed Bago Foundation felt that after these people from different constituents that make up Chanchaga Federal Constituency of the state must have learnt the trades, that they would be able to train others.
“Therefore, we asked them to form Cooperatives and they did. And they were grouped into 10 persons per group and each group would be made to open accounts at the banks of their choice. In the process if the earlier seed ( money) given to them is not enough to start their businesses.
” If we observed that they showed enough commitment or seriousness in whatever business they are doing, the fiundation can still give them as much as N500, 000 depending on the types of businesses they are doing with a view to alleviating their sufferings as well as making them self sufficient and providing for their individual families” , she maintained.
Meanwhile, one of the participants who benefitted from the empowerment kits and money, Hajiya Hadiza Ahmed, expressed her gratitude to the foundation, saying that the Hon. Umar Mohammed Bago has taught her and others how to catch fish rather than how to eat fish.
She stated this in a brief in chat with the newsmen after she had received a cash gift of N20,000 as her capital, as well as one 20Kg. of Beans and a bottle of beans flour .
Photo Caption:Niger State Gov. Bello
