Picture Gallery of the event below
By Auwal Hassan, May 23, 2023
A street beggar, Auwalu Usaini on Tuesday, lauded the Federal Government’s Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) Programme.
Usaini made the commendation in Bauchi during a one-day Ministerial town hall meeting on NG-CARES Programme for stakeholders in Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina and Plateau states.
According to him, he would remain eternally grateful to the federal government as the programme succeeded in bringing him out of the street begging business and he is now a shoemaker and orange seller at the same time.
Usaini who hails from Jigawa state recounted how he filled out a form without putting his mind but was surprised to have been shortlisted and received the sum of N80,000.
“To the glory of God, I was able to utilise this money to establish a shoe-making business as well as orange selling. “I hope the federal government can extend this kind gesture to as many people in my shoes as possible,” he said.
Also speaking, another beneficiary, Abdullahi Adamu, a roadside mechanic from Gombe state, said the programme had positively impacted his life.
He explained that after the COVID-19 pandemic, his business was grounded and all his savings in the bank were exhausted without any means of earning money.
Adamu, however, expressed joy as he was fortunate to have been selected when the NG-CARES programme came into existence.
“Apart from the fact that I was given the sum of N100,000, which enabled me to expand my business and add more apprentices, I was also trained on how to keep a record of my business,” he said.
Also, Esther Wakatlagan from Jos South, Plateau state who is an Irish potato seller, appreciated the NG-CARES programme of the federal government for all the support rendered to the people in her area.
“My business increased because I was given a sum of N128,000 to expand my Irish potato planting and selling business.
“In our area, they normally bring a lot of forms for us to fill but we have never benefited anything from them.
“However, after filling out the form for the NG-CARES, sometime later, I was called to come to an address and the rest was history without knowing anybody. “This is the most transparent programme I have ever seen,” she added.
