About 4,500 transport workers in Katsina State are to benefit 30,000 Naira each from the Federal government, under its Transport Program Survival Fund Initiative. The idea is to cushion the effects of Covid-19 on medium and small scale enterprises.
The Director General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, SMEDAN, Dikko Radda, said this during a town hall meeting with different associations in the transportation industry in the state.He assured of equity and justice in the distribution.
35-year-old tricycle operator and breadwinner, Awwal Muhammed said, the coming of the Coronavirus pandemic has affected their businesses, especially during the lockdown. He expressed optimism that the money will go a long way to revive his business, to keep supporting his family.
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The DG, SMEDAN, Dikko Radda, told the operators that, the support will be on first-come, first-served basis. He said that a beneficiary must be Nigerian, maintain a bank account, show Bank Verification Number, BVN, and be registered with one of the associations.
On his part, the Director General of The Katsina Investment And Promotion Agency, Ibrahim Jikamshi, who is also the state’s coordinator of the program said, the state government is fully in support of the gesture.
He added that, the government on its part, is doing a lot, in terms of seeking different means to increase its internally generated revenue, by supporting growth, establishments and development of businesses in the state.
The 4,500 beneficiaries are to be drawn from the different transport sectors operating across the 34 local government areas of the state.
(Editor Paul Akhagbemhe)
