By Stanley Onyekwere
No fewer than 144 youth in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been empowered with the sum of three million, nine hundred and sixty thousand naira, to enable them carry out various business ventures.
The youth were trained under the rural employment promotion department of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) disbursed the said sum as low interest loan.
This disclosure was made by Director General of NDE, Dr Nasiru Ladan Mohammed, during a one day sensitization ceremony for rural employment promotion department of the NDE, in Abuja.
Ladan, who was represented by the state NDE coordinator, Mrs. Noami Mutah, said the beneficiaries were given the low interest loan after they underwent a training conducted by the organisation.
She explained that 48 of the youths, who are women, trained on food producing and packaging received N20, 000 each, while 36 others who were trained on agricultural enhancement scheme were given N50, 000 each.
She added that 60 youth from six cooperative societies, comprising 10 members, which were trained on agricultural value chain scheme received N40, 000 each.
The director general further urged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the money and opportunity given to them to be able to pay back the revolving loan, in order to allow others to also benefit from the scheme.
She added that the beneficiaries have six months grace period before they would start paying back the loan, which they are expected to pay within 12 months at nine per cent interest.
As expected, two of the beneficiaries trained under agricultural value chain, Timothy Uhule and Suleiman Abdullahi, thanked the government for the laudable gesture, while assuring that they would used the loan as opportunity to have something of their own.
