NG-CARE will help Nigerian states earn $20m in 2 years, says World Bank

The World Bank has said that the Nigerian COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) programme will enable each state to earn at least $20 million in 2 years.

The Task Team Leader of NG-CARES, World Bank, Professor Foluso Okunmadewa disclose this in an interview on the sidelines of the launching of the NG-CARES Programme Technical workshop in Abuja, Nigeria.

Professor Okunmadewa explained that the programme was designed in such a way that the states would spend their own money in the first batch.

“Each state should be able to earn 20 million dollars within a space of two years. I used the word earn because it is a programme for the results approach. It is not as if the money will be given to the states and the state will now have to spend it. No! Then Independent Verification Agent will go and look at the results and on the basis of that, the states will be reimbursed,” he asserted

He explained that the programme has already started in many states. It is not just starting because many states have already put their resources into the design and they have already started getting results and they are keeping it.

“So many states have started and we are so happy about all of these states which indicates that they really want to help their poor and vulnerable. And those states are likely to be the fastest and they might even be useful for others who are starting late,” Okunmadewa stated.

He added that the aim of the workshop was to familiarise all operators of the programme at the federal and state levels with the implementation and implications of what had been designed.

Speaking earlier at the occasion, the Chairman, Federal Cares Technical Committee, Mr Aso Vakporaye, applauded the state governors, commissioners, state coordinators and heads of the delivery platform for cooperating with the federal team.

“This is a task before us and I am sure we shall deliver on this mandate of changing the narratives of Nigeria being capital of poverty to capital of wealth and we cannot afford to disappoint our Nation since the poor and vulnerable Nigerians, as well as the gasping Micro Small Enterprises (MSEs), are anxiously waiting for this intervention.”

The NG-CARES programme is a Federal Government initiative with support from the World Bank to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus have the development objective to expand access to livelihood support and food security services, and grants for the poor and vulnerable households and firms.

Recalled that the World Bank had in September 2021, declared as effective Nigeria’s $750 million Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) Programme stating that the Federal Government had met all the conditions for eligibility for the credit line.

NG-CARES is state-operated with support from the World Bank with $750 million credit to support the 36 states and FCT to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the livelihood of poor and vulnerable households and micro-enterprises in the country. (VON)