The Oyo State government has kicked-off the presentation of debit cards and disbursement of cash to 3,510 beneficiaries of Oyo State Covid-19 Action Recovery And Economic Stimulus, OY-CARES.
The state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Hon Mrs Toyin Balogun, during the flag-off, stated that part of the agenda of the present administration is to contribute towards rejuvenating and redeeming the hope of the hopeless and downtrodden groups in the state.
Hon. Mrs. Balogun presentated the debit cards and cash to beneficiaries of OY-CARES at the Ibadan North Local Government Area Secretariat, Ibadan on Friday.
Stressing further that 1,755 individuals from 18 local government areas had benefited in the first phase of the program for a whole year, she informed that the remaining 15 local government areas out of the existing 33 local government areas of the state will benefit from this program and would enjoy the same benefit of N20,000 once in 2 months for the next one year.
Hon. Balogun added that OY-CARES is sequel to the COVID-19 pandemic, sponsored by the World Bank in collaboration with the Federal Government of Nigeria with counterpart funds from all state governments, to ameliorate the economic pain that is biting hard on the citizens coupled with results of subsidy removal.
She therefore assured that the citizens of Oyo State will enjoy more dividends of democracy as the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion rolls out more socio-developmental policies and projects for the wellbeing of the people in the state.
Speaking earlier, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Mrs. Dolapo Popoola, stated that 3,510 individuals will benefit from the whole program – 1st and 2nd batches – of the social components of OY-CARES.
Stressing that the program is reaching out to beneficiaries through five components, which include: Public Labour Intensive Work, PLIW, which deals with youths, Community Social Development Agency, CSDA, Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency, OYSADA – for farmers, Oyo State Investment Public Private Partnership Agency, OYSIPA, and Oyo State Conditional Cash Transfer Unit that deals with vulnerables like widows, aged and physically challenged.
