By Uche Amunike
The Buhari-led government has shared N56,842,780,000 to 1,079,323 people and businesses under the Survival Fund Programme.
The chairperson of the Survival Fund Steering Committee, Maryam Katagum, disclosed this, Tuesday, at a news conference in Abuja.
Katagum, who is also the Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment also flagged off the Guaranteed Off-Take Scheme, with 50,032 shortlisted beneficiaries.
She explained that the scheme was the last track of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Survival Fund.
She explained that the target was to reach 100,000 beneficiaries. However only 65,976 applications were received as at the time the Portal closed.
The pre-qualification test was passed by only 50,032 entries across Nigeria.
She further stated that 56,842,780,000.00 has been successfully shared to 1,079,323 people, including businesses registered under the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC.
The Federal government, she noted, is ready to roll out the last component of the survival fund known as the Guaranteed Off-Take Scheme, GOS, which was conceived to aid small businesses, especially as the COVID-19 scourge led to a drop in demand for corporate and household products and commodities.
She explained that issues from other programs like failed payments, balancing Value and ensuring equity among states caused a delay in the commencement of the scheme.
The Minister stressed that for verification and pre-qualification, beneficiaries must be Nigerians with valid BVN and they must have a staff strength of not less than three.
Still on funds disbursement the Federal government has begun the sharing of N8.5bn to 144 000 households in Katsina state, this time, under the Conditional Cash Transfer, CCT, scheme.
The fund’s distribution is targeted at underprivileged families in katsina. This was made known by state coordinator Sheffield abdullahi who noted that the funds will be distributed to the beneficiaries in two phases.
He explained that the first N4.250bn will be shared while the remaining N4.250bn will also be shared after 10days, totalling it to N8.5bn.
He added that the disbursement was earlier stalled because the government wanted it to be given to the right beneficiaries.
He disclosed that 5,000 naira will be given to each female beneficiary every month for one year, totalling 60,000 naira.
Presently he said the government has already started to pay half of the amount, 30,000 naira to 144 thousand households. The remaining 30,000 will be completed in the next 10 days.
He added that the program has been implemented in 12, out of the 24 Local Government Areas in Katsina state.
Batagarawa, Daura, Ingawa and Bindawa are some of the areas that have so far benefited from the scheme, he concluded.
Kogi state is not left outnbof the disbursements, the Federal government has commenced paying N20,000 stipend to over 7,000 beneficiaries and vulnerable households in the state.
74000 beneficiaries each got N20,000 under the National Social Investment Programme, NSIP.
The funds are disbursed under its Conditional Cash Transfer, CCT, of the National Social Investment Programme, NSIP.
The CCT, according to the head of Kogi state CCT Unit, Falilat Abdulrasaq, was targeted at the poor people in Kogi, in order to lift them from poverty.
