About 150 women drawn from the Irepodun Local Government Area of Osun State on Saturday, received an amount totaling N3 million in business support grants under an empowerment initiative by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola.
The sponsor of the initiative, the Executive Director, Marine and Operations, Nigerian Ports Authority, Mr Olalekan Badmus, while addressing the beneficiaries in Ilobu, Osun State, explained that the aim was to strengthen the business ventures of women in the community.
Badmus, a Commissioner under Oyetola’s administration in Osun State between 2019 and 2022, further said that the gesture was also adding more strength to the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
Represented by the NPA boss, Dr. Dare Adeyemi stated, “Our aim is to lift about 4,000 residents of the state through a series of empowerment, from scholarship, youth orientation programmes, grant to traders and many more.
“The reason for the grant for women is to ensure we strengthen our micro-economy. When this is done, we are indirectly tackling poverty. Within one year, 3,000 residents have benefited from our programme and we will not stop.
“For this local government, 150 will benefit and we are moving to other local government areas. This is one of our contributions to the Renewed Hope Agenda through the mentorship of ex-Governor Oyetola. We will not stop until all Nigerians feel the impact of President Bola Tinubu.”
Speaking earlier, the Olobu of Ilobu, Oba Asiru Olaniyan, commended the sponsor of the initiative for coming to the aid of the women in his domain, noting that the support would go a long way in reducing poverty among the beneficiaries.
He urged the women to use the grant for the purpose it was meant for, warning them against spending the funds given to them to support their businesses on frivolities.
Represented by Chief Tunji Laoye, the monarch also said, “In this hard time, getting this kind of grant is a big sacrifice from the sponsor. I pray that God will continue to uphold Oyetola for extending this gesture to my domain.”