The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) Project in Gombe State has distributed 9,894 ATM cards to beneficiaries across eight local government areas. The areas covered include Akko, Gombe, Dukku, Kaltungo, Balanga, Kwami, Billiri, and Shongom.
According to the project team, the remaining local government areas yet to receive their cards are Nafada, Funakaye, and Yamaltu Deba, where a total of 2,207 ATM cards are set to be distributed soon. The ATM cards allow beneficiaries to access the girls’ scholarship funds designed to support the education of 12,101 adolescent girls in the first cohort of the AGILE project.
The Gombe State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Aishatu Umar Maigari, expressed satisfaction with the progress of the AGILE initiative. She said, “The strategy adopted by AGILE to reach out to the beneficiaries is commendable, and I urge caregivers to utilize the funds accordingly for the purpose it was meant.”
Monitoring the exercise in some schools, the Project Coordinator, Dr. Amina Haruna Abdul, commended the smooth conduct of the process. She assured that all verified beneficiaries would receive their ATM cards within the stipulated period.
Dr. Amina added that those who submitted wrong National Identification Numbers (NIN) are being attended to, as the project compiles correct numbers to effect necessary corrections.