By Terna Chikpa, Jalingo
Taraba State Deputy governor, Alhaji Aminu Alkali on Friday said the state will soon exit the list of poverty index states in Nigeria.
Alkali noted that governor Agbu Kefas’ poverty intervention support among household, and skills acquisition programs for youth would serve as job opportunities and make them employers of labour.
The deputy governor disclosed this while flagging off the third phase of the Taraba Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (TRKS), funds disbursement among household in Taraba.
He expressed that the state government through the ministry of cooperative and poverty alleviation was determined to ensuring that women and Youth are empowered through fund support for businesses and skills acquisition training to make the unemployed youths become self-reliance, and creators of jobs.
“The official flag off this intervention programme is an indication that Taraba will soon exit the list of poverty index states. The government of governor Agbu Kefas is committed to ensure that women and Youth are empower to become creators of jobs and put an end to poverty waves in Taraba.
“Already, governor Kefas has allocated 10bn in the supplementary budget to build skills acquisition centres across the three Geo-political zones of Taraba state,” Alkali boasted.
The deputy governor urged beneficiaries to see the programme as a life changing opportunity, judiciously utilise the funds and end the poverty waves in the state.
Earlier, Mr Habu James Philip, Taraba State Commissioner for cooperative and poverty alleviation, disclosed during the programme that the state government through his ministry, had in the first and second phase of Taraba state Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (TRKS), disbursed grant to household to alleviate the effect of Covid-19 pandemic and boost their economic state.
According to the Commissioner, in the first phase in June 2023, 1078 household benefited from one hundred and one million, nine hundred thousand Naira (101,900), while 1602 household benefited from, one hundred million Naira in the second phase of the programme in January 2024.
Habu noted that the third phase of the programme would capture 10,490 household to benefit, five hundred and twenty four (5,24,000) million Naira grant.
“This programme is part of governor Agbu Kefas’ deliberate efforts to fight poverty in Taraba and ensure that every woman and youth become self-reliance.
“The 10bn set aside in the supplementary budget to build skills acquisition centres in the three senatorial zones of Taraba would compliment the strive of the already existing ones in the mandate of skills training and job creation among youths.
“I wish to inform here that my ministry has successfully engaged with the federal ministry of labour, and have taken over skills acquisition centres that were built by the federal government but were not fully in use. To this development, I am please to inform you that the skills acquisition centre at Donga local government area has been handed over to Taraba state university for efficient management and training of youths in various skills, while the other centre at Kona road in Jalingo is under serious renovation,” the commissioner disclosed.
Meanwhile, Engr. Daniel Calvin, head of unit, SGT Taraba, called on the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the money and live above poverty line.
