No fewer than 50,000 women in Ogun State have benefitted from the financial empowerment scheme tagged ‘Oko Awo Dapo’, introduced by the incumbent administration to lift women out of poverty.
The state governor, Dapo Abiodun who made this known at the validation exercise of ward facilitators of the scheme held at the Oba’s Complex, Oke Mosan, Abeokuta on Friday equally disclosed that over N500m has been saved via contributions by the beneficiaries in three local government areas of the state.
Abiodun charged the ward facilitators to advertise the benefits of the scheme to their fellow women, saying he expected that the number of the participants should have increased to over 200,000 across the state.
“In three local governments, we have over 50,000 women participating in this scheme; they have saved over N500 Million. The three local government areas are Odeda, Ijebu North East and Yewa North. We just started the one for Ikenne.
“Our ward facilitators should go all out to advertise this programme, educate more women about the benefit of this programme, I am confident that in the next three to four months, we would have had over 200,000 women in this programme across the state,” he said.
The governor, while noting that the scheme isn’t different from a cooperative scheme, said that his administration would give a loan to each participant four fold of whatever she might have contributed in four weeks.
“This is not different from your various contributions, it is a cooperative scheme. Our ward facilitators will go all out and bring together those women who will be part of the scheme, about 20 or 25 women in each group and start contributing.
“You will now start to contribute for four weeks, you will attend weekly meetings, after contributing for four weeks, the government will now give you a loan that will amount to four fold of what you contributed.
“So, if you contribute N2000 weekly and you now have N80,000 in the fourth week, our government will give you a N32,000 loan. If it is N5,000, you contribute weekly and you now have N20,000 at the end of the four weeks, our government will now loan you N80,000,” he said.
Abiodun who also disclosed that all ward facilitators would be paid every month, urged them to put in extra effort to ensure the success of the programme, adding that he would personally compensate any of the facilitators who does her duty diligently.
“We will pay our ward women leaders who are our ward facilitators every month. Our government is not a use-and-dump government, our government holds out women in high esteem.
“Our women, I want you to put extra effort into this programme because if this programme is successful, you will benefit more. And any woman leader who now does her own task very well, I as your governor will now do something to appreciate that woman leader,” he stated.
The governor, however, told the ward facilitators not to make the programme a party affair but extend it to others.
In her remarks, the deputy governor, Noimot Salako-Oyedele while acknowledging the governor for supporting the cause of women in the society said that the programme would continue to help women across the state to be more economically viable.
The wife of the governor, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun noted that the success of women is of utmost importance to the governor, urging them to be more patient as the plan the governor has for them is huge.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Funmi Efuwape, while noting that the present administration in the state is passionate about women, advised women across the state to take the opportunity with both hands and get connected so as to be a beneficiary.
In their respective remarks, Mrs Arigbabuwo Kubura from Ijebu North East Local Government and Sola Adedeji from Sagamu Local Government, who both thanked the present administration for presenting women in the state with an opportunity to contribute and have access to loan said that the programme has given them more insight into how to do business, prepare their budget and also be accountable.
