Borno Govt. Trains Disabled, Gives N100,000 Each To Start Own Business

The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development Hajiya Ladi Bappa has said that the Borno state government is planning to engage all physically challenged persons in the state by training them and giving them funds to start their own business.

Hajiya Ladi Bappa disclosed this in an interview in her office at the Musa Usman secretariat Maiduguri saying that so far the state government has expended over N4 million on 40 trained physically challenged persons to start their business in tailoring, carpentering, Knitting and leather works among other businesses they specialized.

She said the ministry has an effective monitoring system through which it monitors the activities of the trainees and called on the beneficiaries to make good use of the funds for others to also benefit.

According to her, it is unfortunate that some of the beneficiaries are not making good use of the funds given to them to start up their business, adding that many of them spent the funds in marriages and other unproductive ventures.

“So far we have graduated four batches of the disabled but to my dismay I heard that some of them were accusing the ministry because we are trying to stop them from begging. Very soon we are also going to embark on the 5th batch of the training,” she stated.

Hajiya Bappa said the ministry has also designed a special programme for the blind, as their old businesses of door mats and foam making is outdated.