Gov. Buni disburses incentives to girls, women, displaced families in Yobe
By Ahmed Isah
Gov. Mai Mala Buni has launched financial and empowerment support programmes aimed at keeping girls in school, rebuilding livelihoods and improving household incomes across Yobe.
The initiative covers conditional cash transfers to 32,382 girls, micro-enterprise grants to 1,500 displaced persons and vocational empowerment materials for 340 women drawn from the 17 local government areas.
Speaking at the event in Damaturu, Buni said the girls received over N1.2 billion under the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), supported by the World Bank.
He said the programme, conceived in 2024, was already yielding positive outcomes by reducing school dropouts and easing the burden on families from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Buni said education remained the cornerstone of his administration’s development agenda, adding that sustained investment was critical to long-term social and economic progress.
He listed reforms to include recruitment and retraining of teachers, reconstruction and renovation of over 5,000 classrooms, establishment of 13 mega and model schools, and provision of learning materials.
The governor added that the state also pays West African Examinations Council and National Examinations Council fees for all SS III students of Yobe origin in public schools.
To further strengthen girls’ education, Buni said nine Senior Girls Day Secondary Schools had been established to ensure smooth transition from junior to senior secondary level.
The governor also launched the disbursement of N300 million in micro-enterprise grants to 1,500 beneficiaries from the displaced community of Mallam Dunari in Gujba Local Government Area.
He said each beneficiary would rebuild small businesses after years of displacement caused by insurgency, describing the support as a pathway to dignity and self-reliance.
Buni said the intervention complemented ongoing investments in agriculture and infrastructure in Gujba, particularly in Goniri, a host community to displaced families.
According to him, projects in Goniri include a new primary healthcare centre, motorised water boreholes and solar streetlights to enhance security and quality of life.
In a related development, the Ministry of Women Affairs empowered 340 women with vocational tools to improve household incomes.
The items include 170 cooking gas cylinders, 170 micro-ovens, 170 mixers and 170 bags of flour, distributed to mark International Women’s Day.
Buni urged beneficiaries to make judicious use of the support, saying the interventions were designed to create sustainable livelihoods.
The AGILE State Project Coordinator, Malam Abdullahi Bula, said the cash support to the girls was targeted at students from economically disadvantaged homes.
He said the intervention would help ensure regular school attendance and reduce dropout rates.
The Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency, Dr. Muhammadu Goje, said each beneficiary from Mallam Dunari would receive N200,000 after undergoing business training.
Goje said the grants were structured to help families restart or expand micro-enterprises and rebuild their lives.
