By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukwu
In a move aimed at boosting grassroots livelihoods, the Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr Mariya Mahmoud Bunkure, on Saturday empowered 4,064 women and youths in Kano with vehicles, equipment and cash support.
The empowerment programme, which was fully funded from the minister’s personal resources, featured the distribution of six cars, 35 motorcycles, sewing and grinding machines, fertiliser, food items and cash grants to beneficiaries across the state.
A breakdown of the items distributed showed that beneficiaries received 200 spaghetti-making machines with flour, 200 grinding machines, 200 sewing machines, 400 bags of fertiliser, 1,000 bags of rice and 30 wheelchairs.
In addition, 2,000 people received cash grants of N30,000 each to support small businesses and income-generating activities.
Speaking at the event, Dr Bunkure said the initiative was inspired by the need to complement President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda through direct intervention at the community level.
She described the empowerment exercise as a deliberate effort to restore dignity and create opportunities for women and youths, whom she described as critical drivers of economic growth and political stability.
The minister stressed that the programme marked only the beginning of a series of interventions aimed at improving living standards in Kano.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Education, Dr Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, said the Tinubu administration places strong emphasis on human capital development, revealing that plans were underway to empower 250,000 Nigerians nationwide.
Similarly, the wife of former APC National Chairman, Mrs Hafsat Abdullahi Ganduje, commended the initiative, describing human development as a key pillar of the ruling party’s agenda.