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• declares “Nigeria owes women an economy worthy of their labour”
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Vice President Kashim Shettima on Sunday flagged off the disbursement of the Community Investment Fund (CIF) to more than 40,000 women in Katsina State, declaring that the success of the Federal Government’s economic reforms must be reflected in stronger businesses and improved household incomes.
Shettima, who spoke at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium, Katsina, during the flag-off of the fund under the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up Project (NFWP-SU), said economic reforms must go beyond macroeconomic indicators to improve the earning capacity of ordinary Nigerians, according to a statement by his media aide, Stanley Nkwocha.
“For the administration of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, economic reform must find expression in the earning capacity of citizens. We must connect national policy to the circumstances of the trader, the producer and the service provider,” he said.
“Our task is to make their effort more rewarding, so that the pursuit of national growth becomes intelligible in the accounts of an ordinary household.”
The Vice President said the more than 40,000 beneficiaries had met prescribed eligibility conditions and demonstrated satisfactory performance in savings and group activities.
He said the intervention was aimed at giving women greater access to capital, training and productive resources, stressing that inadequate financing should no longer limit the ambitions of women entrepreneurs.
“We owe these women an economy worthy of their labour. They have carried heavy responsibilities with limited means; their ambition should now have more room to flourish,” Shettima said.
“Our daughters should inherit their mothers’ determination without inheriting every obstacle their mothers endured.”
He said the CIF combines savings and lending through Women Affinity Groups with training and financial literacy, noting that access to money without the requisite knowledge would not necessarily produce sustainable businesses.
“Money needs knowledge and organisation to produce lasting results,” he said.
Shettima urged beneficiaries to maintain proper business records, distinguish between revenue and profit and carefully manage the funds entrusted to them.
He also charged officials administering the scheme to ensure that access to the fund was based strictly on eligibility, without favouritism or political interference.
“Eligibility must remain the basis of access, without favouritism or political interference,” he said, adding that beneficiaries should understand the terms of the support and that every transaction must be properly documented.
Katsina State Governor Dikko Umaru Radda said the state government had committed an additional N4 billion to the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up, bringing its total financial commitment to N8 billion.
Radda said the intervention would expand economic opportunities for women and improve their livelihoods, while noting the inclusion of women living with hearing impairment through the formation of affinity groups.
He added that the state would complement the women-focused initiative with similar interventions for men to strengthen household incomes and promote financial independence.
World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Matthew Verghis, said Nigerian women were already making significant contributions across sectors of the economy, but closing gender gaps would require deliberate action.
He commended the Federal and Katsina State governments for addressing the economic needs of women through empowerment initiatives and called on the private sector, community leaders and traditional institutions to support efforts to expand economic opportunities.
The Vice President also inaugurated 32 compressed natural gas-powered buses and 200 electric-powered tricycles under the Katsina State Comprehensive Urban Renewal Programme, alongside completed road projects designed to improve traffic flow, connectivity and urban mobility in the state capital.
