The Kogi State Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (Kogi AGILE) Project has commenced distribution of preloaded Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards to 12,112 adolescent girls under the second cohort of its Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) component.
The distribution was carried out across the three senatorial districts of the state to facilitate access to financial channels and ensure that eligible girls are reached under the intervention.
themomentng reports that each beneficiary will get N40,000 paid into the account opened for the students.
At Our Lady of Schools, Anyigba on Thursday, the State Project Coordinator, Alhaji Ahmed Oricha, said the distribution of ATM cards represented a critical stage in the implementation of the CCT intervention, as it provides beneficiaries with the required financial access.
He described the CCT component as one of the interventions of the Kogi AGILE Project aimed at supporting adolescent girls to remain in school, transit successfully, and overcome financial barriers affecting their education.
Oricha reiterated the project’s commitment to ensuring eligible beneficiaries received necessary support, urging beneficiaries and their parents or guardians to make responsible use of the intervention to promote girls’ education and remain committed to studies.
He urged school principals, parents, community stakeholders, and other actors to support successful implementation by ensuring beneficiaries are properly guided and protected.
He explained that “the first cohort is to support girls at critical transition points of their education, particularly as they move from one level of schooling to another.
“The continuation of the intervention with a second cohort underscores the project’s broader focus on girls’ access to and retention in education.”
The CCT Lead, Kunle Mumini, said the second cohort comprises 12,112 eligible girls, and the exercise is organised across the three districts to improve accessibility, reduce long-distance travel burden and ensure statewide coverage.
Mumini encouraged beneficiaries and parents to cooperate with officials and ensure all required procedures are followed for proper documentation and accountability.
He said the commencement of the second-cohort distribution was built on the first cohort of the CCT intervention which targeted 13,359 adolescent girls in all transitioning classes across the state.
Some beneficiaries who spoke during the exercise expressed appreciation, noting the intervention would encourage schoolgirls to remain focused on education.
Parents and guardians described it as timely support for families facing financial challenges in keeping daughters in school.
A beneficiary, Miss Janet Adaji, and a parent Mrs Jumai Adamu, commended AGILE for the gesture, describing it as an important intervention for families facing financial challenges associated with keeping their daughters in school.
Adaji said “the intervention would provide additional encouragement for us to remain focused on our education.”
The distribution is expected to continue across the three senatorial districts of the state until all eligible beneficiaries are reached.
