Bayelsa Govt Empowers 210 Small Scale Business Owners With N42m

The government of Bayelsa State recently empowered 210 small scale businesses owners with the sum of N42million to grow their businesses.
The beneficiaries who received N200,000 each, were picked from the 105 wards in the state, and are to use the money to grow their businesses in order to contribute to the state’s local economy.
Addressing the beneficiaries in Yenagoa, the commissioner for Women, Children Affairs, Empowerment and Social Development, Faith Opuene, said Bayelsa State is a civil servant state and that Bayelsans must be part of the business community.
She announced that the governor said it was time to empower the people so they can help and grow in business and also be contributors to the economic growth of the state.
“The money is for those that are in business already, like petty trading, hair dressing, tailoring, barbing, food vendors and other small scale businesses, to help them grow their business because that is what the governor wants.
“If you add N200,000 to all these businesses that I have earlier mentioned, definitely the business will grow. We selected them from the grassroots through the wards, one man/one woman out of the 105 wards we have in the state totaling 210,” the commissioner explained.
To monitor progress, she said, the committee setup by the governor have carried out the bio-metric data and other necessary information on the beneficiaries to have records for assessment.
“The committee is ever ready to go out and monitor their businesses to see how they are growing and those that are really doing it. And for those that will not do well, they will not have anything again,” she said.
The commissioner said the government is determined to get Bayelsans into business
“Our aim is to see our people doing business and growing it. Our economy is not in our hands, so we are taking back our economy to our people. That is the achievements we are fighting for; the achievement we want in Bayelsa. When the Ibos close their shops for any reasons, bayelsans should have shops that are open for business”.
She advised them not to fail the government.
“You should not disappoint the governor for the kind gesture. You should encourage him to do more by doing well in your businesses so that you can be rewarded.”
Also speaking, the commissioner for Education, Hon. Gentle Emelah said Governor Douye Diri’s government wants to encourage entrepreneurship by helping the local economy grow and to ensure the economy is in the hands of the people.
“Today we are here to encourage those who are doing small scale businesses in the locality-the women who sell fish, food vendors, hairdressers, tailors and others. We have the consciousness that we want to reach the local people direct and we are doing this based on the governor’s directive. We will be doing this until the end of the governor’s first tenure,” he disclosed.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Ibomotimi Waripamo, in a chat with journalists thanked the government of Governor Douye Diri and promised not to lavish the money on frivolities.
“I am going to use the money judiciously to improve on my madiga (local bread) business and buy more goods to expand my business. The prosperity government gave me N200,000 to add to my business, am really grateful,” she said.
Another beneficiary, Mr. Titify Toboukey, who deals with vegetables, said he will use the money to expand his vegetable business and enlarge his wife’s provision store.