The Delta State Government has commenced a N5 billion grassroots empowerment programme targeting no fewer than 100,000 small-scale business owners and other beneficiaries across the state’s 500 wards.
Under the scheme, which is intended to stimulate economic activities and improve living conditions in families and communities, each beneficiary is expected to receive N50,000, with distribution channelled through local government councillors.
Executive Assistant to the Governor on Public Enlightenment(Projects and Policies), Mr Olisa Ifeajika, disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Asaba, and said that the initiative was designed to complement the administration’s investments in infrastructure with direct financial support for residents.
Ifeajika explained that Governor Sheriff Oborevwori considered direct economic assistance to the people necessary, after providing roads, bridges, schools, healthcare facilities and other critical infrastructure across the state.
“Having provided critical infrastructure across the state, the governor realised that the people are yearning for something more that touches their lives directly.
“He understands that, as much as the people need airports, flyovers and roads, they also need some money in their pockets,” he said.
According to him, the governor directed councillors across the state to empower at least 200 people in each ward, leveraging their proximity to communities to reach beneficiaries at the grassroots.
With 500 wards in Delta, the programme targets 100,000 beneficiaries and total financial outlay of N5 billion.
Ifeajika said the intervention would help small-scale entrepreneurs to sustain their businesses while providing additional financial support for households and their extended families.
He added that the scheme reflected the administration’s determination to make the impact of governance felt beyond physical infrastructure, noting that further empowerment initiatives would be introduced in the months and years ahead.
“The lives of Deltans matter to the governor. He tells us that all the time, and he describes himself as the servant of everybody,” he said.
He urged residents to continue supporting the administration as it pursued its development agenda, combining infrastructure delivery with initiatives intended to improve livelihoods and expand economic opportunities across the state.
