Against the backdrop of looming food insecurity and the attendant surge in prices of food and commodities, the governor of Kaduna State, Uba Sani, has announced plans to allocate a N4.2 billion relief fund to assist Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and households facing vulnerabilities within the state to stem the exacerbating food crisis.
He said: “There has not been any uprising in Kaduna State over this issue because we have been working with organised labour, market women, and even NGOs, especially with my antecedent as a civil rights activist.
“Prior to these latest agitations, I predicted that this situation may come up. That’s why I am the only governor that signed an Executive Order on Financial Inclusion, to bring about 2.5 million vulnerable, underserved people back into the financial services sector.
“We have also been able to organise about 4200 SMEs in Kaduna State, and in the next one week we have decided to support them with palliatives worth about N4.2 billion, which will also go directly to vulnerable households and some small businesses that we have captured.
“Additionally, over N1.5m people have been brought back into the financial sector since the signing of the Executive Order on Financial Inclusion in Kaduna state.”
