From Nwogha Ndubuisi, Abakaliki
Ebonyi state Governor, Francis Nwifuru has disbursed N300 million to the 100 beneficiaries of the second batch of his agricultural training and empowerment programme championed by his administration to promote food security and a healthy economy in the State.
Each of the beneficiaries of the Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru Empowerment Programme, FONEP in the agricultural sector received three million Naira following the successful completion of their two-month training at Agbani farm in Enugu State by Masterskill Development and Services Limited.
Speaking during the disbursement of the fund, Governor Nwifuru, represented by the State Commissioner for Human Capital Development and Monitoring, Mrs Ann Aligwe, commended the beneficiaries for being orderly and committed to their training programme, which led to their successful graduation last year December.
He recalled that last year, the 100 beneficiaries of the first batch of the programme were, after their graduation, empowered with N3 million each to start their farming businesses in the state.
He explained that the disbursement of the funds to the second batch beneficiaries of the programme was delayed because the state government was busy trying to finish dispatching the awardees of the state scholarship scheme, among other government activities.
“You people were supposed to be empowered financially last January but the state government was busy trying to finish with the programme of sending the scholarship beneficiaries to abroad.
“N3 million has been approved for each person among the 100 beneficiaries of the second batch FONEP training programme, as usual.
“That’s why you can see the Zenith Bank team here, to ensure proper profiling and disbursement are made today.
“In the Ministry of Human Capital Development and Monitoring in Ebonyi State, we ensure the real beneficiaries are captured and they get what is due for them.
“This empowerment is not a jamboree because we are monitoring the first batch, and we have discovered that those in poultry made a lot of gains last season”, Aligwe said.
Also speaking, Henry Onyebuchi Nworie, the Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Human Capital Development and Monitoring, commended the beneficiaries of the programme and urged them to speed up their farm activities with the money to ensure optimal performance.
“The time to utilize what you acquired from the Masterskill Development and Services Limited has come, and you have to be exemplary by making the state proud by putting all you acquired into practice because it will go a long way to promote food security and healthy economy in Ebonyi State and Nigeria at large”, Nworie stated.
Ngozi Daniel Ajah, the Zenith Bank representative, commended the state governor, Francis Nwifuru, for prioritizing grassroots development, especially in the areas of human empowerment and infrastructural advancement.
Some of the beneficiaries, Aligwe Patrick, Kingsley Nwamkpuma, Chiamaka Ogerenya, Sonya Igwe, and Godwin Okoro, among others, expressed gratitude over the gesture and assured of utilizing the fund to advance their skills in farming and other agricultural activities for the benefit of humanity.
