Some beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (N-G CARES) programme have expressed gratitude for being captured in the initiative.
A street begger, Auwalu Usaini on Tuesday, during a one-day Ministerial town hall meeting on N-G CARES Programme for stakeholders in Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina and Plateau states explained how the scheme had impacted him.
Usaini said he would remain eternally grateful to the federal government as the programme succeeded in bringing him out of street begging business, adding he is now a shoe maker and orange seller at the same time.
Usaini who hails from Jigawa State recounted how he pessimistically filled a form but was surprised to be shortlisted. He received the sum of N80,000 afterwards.
He said: “To the glory of God, I was able to utilise this money to establish a shoe making business as well as orange selling.
“I hope the federal government can extend this kind gesture as many people in my shoes as possible.”
Another beneficiary, Abdullahi Adamu, a roadside mechanic from Gombe State, said the programme had positively impacted his life.
He explained that after the COVID-19 pandemic, his business was grounded and all his savings in the bank were exhausted without any means of earning money.
Adamu, however, expressed joy as he was fortunate to have been selected when the N-G CARES programme kicked off.
“Apart from the fact that I was given the sum of N100,000, which enabled me to expand my business and add more apprentices, I was also trained on how to keep record of my business,” he said.
An Irish Potato seller, Esther Wakatlagan from Jos South, Plateau State, praised the N-G CARES programme and thanked the federal government for all the support rendered to the people in her area.
“My business increased because I was given a sum of N128,000 to expand my Irish potato planting and selling business.
“In our area, they normally bring a lot of forms for us to fill but we have never benefited anything from them.
“However, after filling the form for the N-G CARES, sometime later, I was called to come to an address and the rest was history without knowing anybody.
“This is the most transparent programme I have ever seen,” she said.
