The Nigerian Government has commended the Zamfara State government for prioritizing the poor and vulnerable in its development agenda especially its support in the implementation of the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) Programme.
The National Coordinator of the Federal CARES Support Unit (FCSU) of the World Bank-assisted NG-CARES programme, Dr Abdulkarim Obaje, stated this in Gusau when he led the federal team of NG-CARES to the state on the Implementation Support Mission and Advocacy visit to the State Governor, Bello Matawalle.
Obaje noted that the 2.6 billion Naira budget support the Zamfara State Government injected into the NG-CARES programme is yielding positive results, adding that the state is one of the highest funders of NG-CARES activities in the country.
He applauded the Zamfara State Governor for personally monitoring the implementation of NG-CARES in the state.
According to the National Coordinator, the state stands to benefit more when they invest more funds in the programme, adding that injecting funds into the programme has a double positive impact.
“Not only will state governments who invest in the programme get additional funds in return from the NG-CARES programme, more poor and vulnerable citizens would have been impacted positively” he assured.
He said that “What Governor Bello Matawalle is doing with NG-CARES is automatically supporting President Muhammadu Buhari’s government ‘s vision of lifting 100 million people out of poverty within ten years”.
Responding, Governor Bello Matawalle restated the state government’s commitment to alleviating poverty in the state.
The Governor noted that such development programmes have a positive impact not only on the economy of the state but also on security.
He stated that the Nigeria Governors Forum that initiated the NG-CARES programme would continue to support its implementation.
“The NG-CARES Programme Development Objective is to expand access to livelihood support and food security services and grants for the poor and vulnerable households and firms,” he added.
