Poverty alleviation: Borno imports N1bn motorcycles, tricycles

from The Tide

Borno Governor, Sen. Ali Sheriff, says administration has imported more than 10,000 motorcycles and tricycles worth more than one billion naira from China as part of its poverty alleviation scheme.

He stated in Maiduguri that the motorcycles and tricycles would be distributed to farmers, public servants and unemployed school leavers, among other beneficiaries.

He said that the tricycles were specially made to carry at least 350 kilograms of load.

“These would assist farmers in conveying their produce from the farm to ware houses while the m9torcycles would also go a long way in assisting public servants in their transportation needs.

“Such needs cover movements to and from their places of work, as well to their farms at the weekends,” Sheriff said.

According to him, government has equally imported 1,000 generators at a cost of about N1.2 billion for onward distribution to farmers, artisans and public civil servant as soft loans to enhance their professional activities.

“Our government is determined to reduce poverty to the barest minimum before we leave office,” the governor said.

“One of the cardinal objectives of my administration was to introduce policies and programmes that would empower the people and propel them to greater socio-economic heights”.

Sheriff said that is the last three and half years, the state government had used a multi-sectorial approach in addressing the poverty question in Borno State.

These, he said, included the creation of a special ministry of the poverty alleviation and youth empowerment to directly handle the programme of poverty in the state.