The Kaduna State governor, Uba Sani, has revealed plans to disburse N4.2 billion intervention fund to support Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs, and vulnerable households in the state.
Mr Sani, who disclosed this during an interview with TVC News on Monday, said the intervention is part of his administration’s efforts to ease the burdens caused by the removal of fuel subsidy.
He said: “There has not been any uprising in Kaduna State over this issue because we have been working with organised labour, market women, and even NGOs, especially with my antecedent as a civil rights activist.
“Prior to these latest agitations, I predicted that this situation may come up. That’s why I am the only governor that signed an Executive Order on Financial Inclusion, to bring about 2.5 million vulnerable, underserved people back into the financial services sector.
“We have also been able to organise about 4200 SMEs in Kaduna State, and in the next one week we have decided to support them with palliatives worth about N4.2 billion, which will also go directly to vulnerable households and some small businesses that we have captured.
“Additionally, over N1.5m people have been brought back into the financial sector since the signing of the Executive Order on Financial Inclusion in Kaduna state.”
The governor explained that the initiative was a joint effort by stakeholders such as organised labour, market women, people living with disabilities, smallholder farmers, religious leaders, and community leaders.
“We are proactive in Kaduna State, and that is why the labour unions are supportive of what we are doing because we run an open government.
“Even before the budget presentation to the Kaduna State House of Assembly, we held town halls where I insisted that we could not decide on what we would do for the people of Kaduna without their direct input.
“Also, at the town halls, we emphasised the decision to run an open government, and that’s the reason why we budgeted N22 billion for agriculture, the first in the history of Kaduna.
This was based on the input we received directly from our people, and this is why we are on the same page with our people,” Mr Sani added.
