Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf has begun empowering 5,800 women across the state’s 44 local government areas as part of efforts to reduce poverty and improve livelihoods.

The beneficiaries will receive N50,000 each under the Monthly Women’s Empowerment and Poverty Relief Programme, an initiative introduced by the administration to promote women’s entrepreneurship and strengthen household incomes.

The programme forms part of the governor’s Kano First agenda, with the latest intervention targeting women across the state’s 44 local government areas.

Speaking at the inauguration of the programme on Monday at the Open Arena, Government House, Kano, Yusuf said funds had been made available to sustain the initiative through December 2026.

“We are going to commence this empowerment programme for 5,800 women who we have selected from all the 44 local government areas of the state,” the governor stated.

Yusuf said committees representing the women’s programme in the various local government areas would begin distributing the funds to the beneficiaries following the inauguration.

“The members of the committee representing the women’s programme from the local governments will hand over the empowerment to them by tomorrow after today’s inauguration,” he said.

The governor said the monthly empowerment programme had been sustained since the inception of his administration, describing it as part of the government’s efforts to support women economically.

“You can all recall that we started this monthly empowerment since the inception of this administration,” Yusuf stated.

He assured the beneficiaries that funding for the programme had been secured until the end of the year, ruling out interruptions in the monthly payments.

“These funds are readily available from now to December without any break or hitch, and all beneficiaries will get their empowerment monthly accordingly,” he said.

Yusuf urged the beneficiaries to invest the money in micro-businesses of their choice, saying the support was intended to help them become economically productive.

“Finally, I will say, you are free to select any micro-business of your choice and invest,” the governor added.

The Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Mariya Bunkure, who represented President Bola Tinubu at the event, commended the governor for his support for women in the state.

Bunkure described Yusuf as a governor with a “big heart” and urged the beneficiaries to reciprocate his support by making productive use of the empowerment.

“Governor Yusuf is indeed practically a ‘He for She’, as clearly seen in the way he has been empowering and supporting women throughout his tenure as governor,” she stated.

She said programmes targeted at empowering women would help strengthen their economic independence and enable them to contribute more effectively to the development of their families and communities.

The event was attended by the Kano State Deputy Governor, Murtala Sule Garo; the Emir of Gaya, Dr Aliyu Ibrahim Abdulkadir; the Minister of State for the FCT, Mariya Bunkure; APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatada, represented by Hon. Muhammad Jambo Yusuf; and the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, Jibrin Falgore.

Other government officials, political stakeholders and representatives of women from the 44 local government areas also attended the inauguration.