The Enugu State Government has empowered 520 vulnerable persons across the 260 wards of the state with grinding machines to improve their economic well-being and reduce poverty.
The beneficiaries, drawn from the 17 Council Areas, received the machines during an empowerment programme organised by the state Ministry of Human Development and Poverty Eradication in Enugu on Tuesday.
Distributing the machines on behalf of Gov. Peter Mbah, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said the intervention was part of the administration’s commitment to human capital development and poverty eradication.
Onyia said the administration had, from inception, set a target of reducing the state’s poverty headcount index from 58 per cent to zero.
He described the distribution as one of several interventions designed to support vulnerable persons and improve their economic independence.
The SSG said that the state government did not only build roads, schools and hospitals but also support the poor in the state.
According to him, the beneficiaries were selected based on clearly defined socio-economic indicators to ensure that the intervention reached genuine vulnerable households.
“What you are experiencing today is just one of the interventions put in place to ensure that vulnerable persons develop skills and use the equipment for productive economic activities.
“The aim is to enable them to generate income and have more disposable revenue to improve their quality of life,” Onyia said.
He said the government had also established a monitoring mechanism through the Ministry of Budget and Planning to track the use of the equipment and ensure that beneficiaries put them to productive purposes.
He cautioned the beneficiaries against selling the machines, stressing that the equipment was provided to promote self-sufficiency and not for resale.
The SSG added that the empowerment programme would be sustained, noting that beneficiaries would also be supported with agricultural inputs, digital skills training and other interventions across relevant sectors.
He said the government would continue to use data to plan, monitor and evaluate its interventions to ensure that they produced measurable results.
In her welcome address, the state Commissioner for Human Development and Poverty Eradication, Prof. Benedette Okoli, said the distribution was organised to commemorate the 2026 International Day of the Poor.
Okoli said the 520 machines were allocated to two vulnerable persons from each of the 260 political wards across the state’s 17 Local Government Areas.
She said the programme was made possible through the approval of Mbah, whose administration remained committed to improving the welfare of poor and vulnerable citizens.
According to her, the grinding machines are not merely equipment but economic empowerment tools that will enable beneficiaries to engage in productive activities, generate income and support their families.
The commissioner said the beneficiaries were selected from the Enugu State Social Register of the Poor and Vulnerable, prepared by the State Operations Coordinating Unit (SOCU).
She explained that the selection process was transparent and free from political considerations, favouritism or personal connections.
She assured them that the ministry would work with relevant stakeholders to monitor the programme and provide the necessary support to ensure lasting benefits.
Also speaking, the State Coordinator, SOCU Mrs Joy-Blossom Eneh, represented by the Head of Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr Christopher Nnam, expressed appreciation to the governor for supporting the use of the state’s social register to identify vulnerable households.
Nnam said the social register had provided an evidence-based approach to identifying beneficiaries and ensuring that government interventions reached those who genuinely needed assistance.
He said the unit had captured 586 beneficiaries, including indigent persons and petty traders, for various government interventions.
He described the empowerment programme as evidence that the governor’s commitment to using the social register was yielding tangible results.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs Ndidamaka Ejiri from Igboetiti Local Government Area while. responding on behalf of others expressed gratitude to the state government.
Ejiri said that the machine would, no doubt, significantly improve their family’s income.
“I thank Gov. Peter Mbah for this gesture. Coming 2027, my vote belongs to him, and I promise to put the equipment into productive use to help myself and my family,” she said.
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