Cash grants of N20 million were at the weekend given to 400 constituents of Osun East Senatorial District in Osun.
The empowerment, which was facilitated by Senator Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi representing the district, featured training of youths and women in shrimp and catfish rearing, post-harvest management programme and marketing.
The programmes which were done in conjunction with the Nigeria Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR), saw the participants divided into two groups and underwent rigorous 2-day training at Centres located in Ilesa and Ile Ife.
According to a statement by Mr Sam Segun-Progress, Special Advisers, Media to Senator Fadahunsi, participants at the training programme were drawn across all the 10 local government areas of Osun East.
“For convenience sake, the participants were divided into two groups and underwent rigorous 2-day training at Centres located in Ilesa and Ile Ife. The training commenced with intensive lectures on how to be self-reliant through the rearing of catfish and shrimp.
“The participants were also exposed to practicals before the sessions were concluded and cash grants of N50,000 were given to each of participants to start their farming businesses.”
Speaking at Ilesa training centre, the Osun State Commissioner for Cooperative and Empowerment, Hon. Bayo Ogungbangbe and the Ife Central central local government chairman, Barr Rotimi Adeyenuwo, who presented the grants to the people on behalf of Sen Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi, in Ile-Ife Center, they both advised the beneficiaries to make use of the grant for the purpose it was meant for.
Fadahunsi said the only way out of the current economic quagmire Nigeria has been plunged is to have multiple streams of income and be self-reliant.
He told the beneficiaries that, there would be monitors that would be visiting their farms to check and assured that anyone found to have done well managing his or her farm would further be encouraged with more support.
The participants applauded Sen Adenigba Fadahunsi for his interest in uplifting the downtrodden through his regular interventions and prayed God continues to strengthen him to do more in the interest of the people of Osun East Senatorial District.
. TheWitness
