Despite Public Outrage, Yobe Govt Approves ₦460.8m to Empower Akara Sellers, Other Women Entrepreneurs

• The Yobe State Government has approved ₦460.83 million to support female small business owners, including akara sellers, with beans, cooking oil, smokeless stoves and other business essentials to boost their livelihoods across the state.

The Yobe State Government has approved ₦460.83 million to empower female small business owners, including akara sellers, as part of efforts to strengthen small-scale businesses and improve household incomes across the state.

The approval was granted during the State Executive Council meeting chaired by Governor Mai Mala Buni at the Government House in Damaturu.

Briefing journalists after the meeting, the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Information and Culture, Abdullahi Bego, said the funds would be used to procure 1,780 bags of 50kg beans for distribution to women engaged in small businesses.

According to him, the beneficiaries will also receive cooking oil, smokeless stoves, cooking utensils and other kitchen equipment, which have already been procured by the Ministry of Wealth Creation, Empowerment and Employment Generation.

“The State Executive Council has approved the sum of ₦460,828,450 for the procurement of beans to be distributed to female small business owners as empowerment support,” Bego said.

He explained that the initiative forms part of the Buni administration’s commitment to improving the economic wellbeing of women and expanding opportunities for small-scale entrepreneurs across the state.

In a separate approval, the council also earmarked ₦364.48 million for the purchase of 1,000 Yamaha GX 390 grinding machines to be distributed to residents under the state’s empowerment programme.

Beyond the empowerment packages, the Executive Council approved projects and services worth ₦73.32 billion across key sectors of the state’s economy.

The approved projects include ₦28.53 billion for the procurement of agricultural tools and implements under the state’s 2026 mega agricultural empowerment programme, ₦23.97 billion for two major road projects, as well as funding for housing, markets and other infrastructure development initiatives.