The Akwa Ibom State Government has disbursed N335 million in cash grants to farmers, traders, and entrepreneurs in the Oron Federal Constituency to boost grassroots economic empowerment and inclusiveness across the state.
This was made known by Governor Umo Eno during a town hall meeting held to gather development needs and provide financial support, according to a statement on the state’s website on Sunday.
He noted that the initiative is designed to strengthen small businesses and agriculture across the five LGAs of Oron Federal Constituency while also gathering inputs for the 2026 “People’s Budget.”
“The Town Square meeting organized to afford Oron Federal Constituency opportunity to avail the Akwa Ibom State Governor of their needs, became another empowerment avenue for Governor Umo Eno as several indigenes smiled home with cash grants.
“The cash totaling N335m naira were given to traders, farmers and business owners in the five local government areas of the federal constituency, including Oron, Okobo, Udung Uko, Urue Offong Oruko and Mbo.
More insights
The disbursement was allocated as follows:
- N51 million was given to 108 farmers under the N2 billion ARISE Farmers’ Loan Scheme.
- N225 million went to 543 business owners and traders.
- N50 million was shared among 10 entrepreneurs, with each receiving N5 million.
The Governor also expressed satisfaction with the ongoing work on the 14km Airport – Nsit Atai – Okobo Road, a project he said had lingered through three administrations but is now near completion under his leadership.
He announced plans to flag off construction of a city gate into the Ibom Deep Seaport project and a sales center, signaling the administration’s push toward infrastructural development in the region.
What you should know
The disbursement of N335 million comes after the Akwa Ibom State Government, Umo Eno, granted a N50 million grant to 500 petty traders in the Eket Local Government Area (LGA) as part of ongoing efforts to empower small-scale businesses and develop economic growth in the region enterprises as reported by Nairametrics.
- Earlier in February, the administration announced that over N5.1 billion will be granted to farmers, traders and entrepreneurs across Akwa Ibom State under the ongoing ARISE empowerment programme of Governor Umo Eno’s administration aimed at fostering economic growth and development.
- Under the scheme, N2 billion is earmarked as grants to support individuals, corporate, and commercial farmers, with another N2 billion set aside for validated traders across the 31 LGAs.
