Ogun to disburse N400m to women entrepreneurs

As part of efforts to alleviate poverty and curb family disharmony, which always accounts for child abuse and child labour, the Ogun State government is set to disburse another N400 million in the third phase of its micro-credit scheme to women entrepreneurs resident in the state.

The state government, through the ministry of women affairs, disbursed in 2011 and 2012, N100 million and N200 million, respectively, to over 5,000 women entrepreneurs resident in the state, with a single-digit interest and it is currently training 168 unemployed women at its various centres on different vocations – hairdressing, catering and fashion designing, among others.

Speaking recently in Abeokuta, the state capital, at the commemoration of the African child day, Elizabeth Sonubi, the state commissioner for women affairs and social development, disclosed that African children were wickedly abused and laboured due to parental poverty and family disharmony that mostly plague many families in Africa, especially in Nigeria.

Sonubi said the initiatives of Governor Ibikunle Amosun to empower women with micro-credit facilities and vocational training was targeted at alleviating poverty and ensuring family harmony that discourage broken marital affairs that subsequently lead to hard labour, child trafficking and child abuse, adding that government was striving to prevent factors that might account for child labour and child abuse through women empowerment.

She said: “Through the ministry of women affairs and social development, we have what we call women economy empowerment; we are targeting women to reach the families. We know that is only way we can empower the parents when they will be able to take care of their children. I believe with the micro-credit scheme and vocational training, women will be empowered to cater for their families in return.

“As I speak, we have over 5,000 women that are beneficiaries of this scheme so far. It’s not just that alone, in our training centres, we have 168 women trainees that are learning different skills.