The Oyo State Government in Southwest Nigeria has kicked off the presentation of debit cards and disbursement of cash to 3,510 beneficiaries of the Oyo State Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (OY-CARES).
During the flag-off, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Mrs Toyin Balogun, stated that part of the agenda of the present administration in the state was to contribute towards rejuvenating and redeeming the hope of the hopeless and downtrodden groups in the state.
A statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Dotun Oyelade, says Balogun presented the debit cards and cash to beneficiaries of OY-CARES at the Ibadan North Local Government Area Secretariat, Ibadan.
In the statement, she disclosed that 1,755 individuals from 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs) had benefited in the first phase of the programme for a whole year and the remaining 15 LGAs out of the existing 33LGAs would benefit from the programme and enjoy the same assistance of N20,000 once in 2 months for the next one year.
Balogun noted that the programme (OY-CARES), is sequel to the COVID-19 pandemic, sponsored by the World Bank in collaboration with the Federal Government of Nigeria with counterpart funds from all state governments, to ameliorate the economic pain that is biting hard on the citizens coupled with results of subsidy removal.
She assured that the citizens of Oyo State would enjoy more dividends of democracy as the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion rolled out more socio-developmental policies and projects for the wellbeing of the people in the state.
Speaking earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Mrs Dolapo Popoola, stated that 3,510 individuals would benefit from the whole programme (1st and 2nd batches) of the social components of OY-CARES .
Popoola revealed that the programme was reaching out to beneficiaries through 5 components which include: Public Labour Intensive Work (PLIW) which deals with youths; Community Social Development Agency (CSDA); Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA) for farmers; Oyo State Investment Public Private Partnership Agency (OYSIPA); and the Oyo State Conditional Cash Transfer Unit that deals with the vulnerable like widows, the aged and the physically challenged.
