FG targets more Nigerians in new social investment

The Federal Government has said it intends to double the number of beneficiaries of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) scheme, particularly through the TraderMoni and the MarketMoni.

The Executive Director, Micro Enterprises of the Bank of Industry (BoI), Mrs. Toyin Adeniji, made the disclosure at the Nasarawa State edition of the TraderMoni Town Hall meetings with the Vice President, held at the Keffi Main and Masaka Markets in Nasarawa State.

Adeniji added that there were over 32,000 beneficiaries of the GEEP in Nasarawa State, 28,000 of which were TraderMoni beneficiaries, while 4,000 were under the MarketMoni Scheme.

She pointed out that the objective was to do more, stating that in the last three days before the Vice President’s visit, over 3,000 new beneficiaries had been enumerated and will benefit from the programme.

The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, stated that it was the objective of the Muhammadu Buhari administration to help grow the economy by supporting traders, because “every Nigerian deserves to be rich”.

He applauded the different stakeholders, including BoI and Nasarawa State Government for their collaboration in ensuring that traders in the state also benefited from the initiative.

Osinbajo added that the collateral-free loan, which was dispensed through BoI, is part of the Federal Government’s National Social Investment Programme under GEEP, meant to reinforce government’s commitment to bridge the credit gap and empower Nigerians.

“We want to assure you that we are going to do more as President Muhammadu Buhari has directed us to expand the scheme so that those who have not benefited from the TraderMoni and MarketMoni will also benefit. However, it is very important to pay back the money so that the scheme will work effectively,” he added.

Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, who accompanied the Vice President on the Town Hall meetings at both markets along with his Deputy, called on beneficiaries to use the money judiciously to expand their businesses and to employ others, and pledged his administration’s support for the scheme, given its benefits to citizens in the state.

One of the beneficiaries, Yusuf Muhammed, who sells different kinds of clothing materials in Keffi market, commended the Federal Government for the loan, urging other beneficiaries to pay back as scheduled, as he has so far received N20,000 from the scheme.