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Oyo State Government has commenced the distribution and activation of debit cards to Conditional Cash Transfer Programme (CCTP) beneficiaries in the state.
The Head of Oyo State Cash Transfer Unit, Mr. Ezekiel Oladipo, disclosed this while monitoring the exercise in some of the local government areas in Ibadan, the state capital.
He said the distribution and activation of the credit cards was done in order to make life easier for the poorest of the poor in the society.
According to Oladipo, CCTP is a Federal Government programme that is directed at making life better for the poor in all the states of the federation by giving N5,000 monthly stipend to the identified poor persons.
“This will improve on the household dietary consumption, prevent vulnerable from falling further down poverty line, build resilience to withstand shocks and risks, while improving human capital development,” he said.
Oladipo further stated that the Federal Government assigned payment service provider to all the states in the federation, adding that Oyo was assigned to Unified Payment (UP), who printed the debit cards on behalf of the National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO).
He added that the Federal Government deemed it fit to switch from old mode of payment to digitisation, to ease the stress beneficiaries pass through and reduce the risk of robbery attack .
He explained that in Oyo State, there are about 16,461 beneficiaries from 458 wards and 1,885 communities.
Oladipo, therefore, enjoined the beneficiaries to keep their debit cards safe, join community cash contribution in order to boost their capital development, which he said will reduce the manance of poverty among citizens.