The government of Oyo State has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with seven microfinance banks to distribute N500 million in loans to small and microentrepreneurs (SMEs).
The move is part of the government’s Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER) plan to mitigate the consequences of the elimination of gasoline subsidies.
Dotun Oyelade, the commissioner for information and orientation, said that the state government’s palliatives were already benefiting transportation, healthcare insurance, food security, and agriculture.
In terms of transportation, he stated that 46 buses have been provided, with 31 of them plying intra-city routes in Ibadan and the rest plying other significant cities in the state at reduced fares.
“Because this transportation project has been so successful, private transportation owners have had to complain about fare reductions on government buses.”
In terms of health, the SAfER Initiative has selected 50,000 seniors as eligible for free enrollment in the Oyo State Health Insurance Agency (OYSHIA), while 100,000 vulnerable citizens would be registered in the same plan.
In terms of food security, he stated that the government has set aside N1 billion in loans for small-scale farmers and Youth Entrepreneurs and Agricultural Businesses (YEAP) at N500 million apiece, with the funds being disbursed through financial institutions and the Agricultural Credit Corporation of Oyo State.
He stated that the first phase of SAfER, which was the distribution of food products, reached the most vulnerable people in the state’s 33 local government units.
He, on the other hand, regarded the food distribution exercise as a testing ground with its own set of problems and successes.
Oyelade stated that the government will ensure that desperate and aggressive people do not seize the exercise from the organizers in the future.
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Remember that the organizers were swamped in the state’s Ibadan zone and were compelled to disperse the food items in their possession for fear of being lynched.
However, he stated that the distribution of commodities in other sections of the state went as planned.
