Bauchi state has emerged the 2nd among the 36 states of the federation and FCT in the implementation performance of the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) programme.
Speaking at a ministerial town hall meeting for stakeholders of the programme for Bauchi, Gombe, Plateau, Jigawa, Kano and Katsina states, organised by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning held in Bauchi, Governor Bala Mohammed attributed the emergence of Bauchi as 2nd in implementation performance to the outstanding performance of the state’s implementation team.
Represented by the State Head of Civil Service, Alhaji Yahuza Adamu Haruna, the governor described (NG-CARES) programme as critical towards tackling poverty among the beneficiaries for better living.
He said his administration has given all the necessary support and counterpart commitment to ensure effective implementation of the (NG-CARES) programme so as to assist the state government in tackling effect of economic crisis in the lives of poor citizens.
“We are happy that we have achieved a lot in Bauchi in the implementation (NG-CARES) programme. This programme to us is a welcome development as it will go along way in taking out our people out of poverty. My administration is committed to empowerment of our people in an effort to tackle our challenges as a result of poverty.”
Governor Bala therefore reiterated the readiness of his administration towards seeking partnership and collaboration with development partners to enable the state to access more interventions for the benefit of the state and its citizens.
In a key note address, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, said as part of efforts to scale up its programme under the protection agenda and to respond swiftly and appropriately to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government accessed a World Bank concessional loan in the sum of US$750 million on behalf of the 36 States and FCT to stimulate the local economy and increase households consumption among the poor and vulnerable segment of the society.
