Nasarawa constitutes 9-man Committee to access World Bank $20m to states

A 9-man steering committee to facilitate the implementation of the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) has been inaugurated, with the mandate to ensure Nasarawa is among states benefiting from the World Bank $20 million facilities in the country.

The committee which has the State Commissioner of Finance, Budget and Planning, Haruna Adamu Ogbole as the chairman are to work out modernities of accessing the $20 million as well as to provide the political and administrative governance to the implementation of the programme.

Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, who constituted the committee at the Government House, Lafia said, with the challenges before the state, his administration would not fold his arm to allow it citizens to suffer.

According to the Governor, CARES is a World Bank assisted programme, would be implemented through the Nasarawa State Community and Social Development Agency (NSCSDA) and the Fadama III programme in the state.

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He added that the driver of the programme would help to increase existing social transfers, for the benefit of the people of the state.

“CARES is a World Bank programme aimed at preparing and supporting the country’s efforts for economic recovery together with other programmes of the Federal Government, such as the Economic Sustainability Plan.

“The programme has the objective of expanding access to livelihood support and food security services and grants for poor and vulnerable households and firms, Sule said.

He acknowledged the Federal Government efforts on the economic recovery since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, saying that, the support from the World Bank was only for states that are serious stand to benefit from the $20m low facility earmarked for the project in the country.

He noted, in terms of federation allocation table, Nasarawa is 25 in the list, hence the state has no option than to pick interest in the programme and show more commitment for the benefit of the people.

“That’s the reason why when issues like this come up, as leaders, we need to show seriousness,” the Governor advised.

Sule said, there was a need for the people to understand that COVID-19 challenges have come to stay, and Nigeria citizens should be ready to live with coronavirus just like they have been living with malaria.

The governor was however optimistic that the state and the country as a whole can use the challenges posed by the COVID-19 for beneficial ends, now that the country has gone into another recession.

“There are situations where when there are challenges, some people use the challenges to their benefit. I think that’s the way we should be looking at issues in Nasarawa State, not just fold our arms and say, forget about it,” he said.

He pointed that, every aspect of funding was going to add a lot of value to what his administration was doing in the state, especially that the government has so many projects, so much work to do.

Earlier, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Investment and Economic Planning, Ibrahim Abdullahi, disclosed that the World Bank, through the programme, is providing a $20m facility for the 36 states of the country, meant to stimulate the economy.

He maintained that the World Bank facility was a global commitment to provide succour to the people as a result of the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged world economies.

According to Abdullahi, the constitution of the state’s CARES technical committee by Governor Sule informed why the state qualify and met all requirements to benefit from the facility.