FG restates commitment to food security, MSEs growth
By Tom Garba
The Federal Government said it was determined to maintain food security and facilitate the growth of Medium and Small Enterprises in the country
Prince Clem Agba, Minister of State for Budget and National Planning said this in Yola during at ministerial town hall meeting on the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) programme for Adamawa and Taraba.
The minister, who was represented by Mr Aso Vakporaye, Chairman Federal Technical Committee, NG-CARES, said one of President Buhari’s strategies is to intermittently meet with, and engage stakeholders as part of government’s accountability to the citizens.
“The purpose basically is to hear first-hand views of our people on government policies and programmes and to feel the pulse of Nation”, he said.
He said government had taken efforts to scale up its programme under the social protection agenda and to respond 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.
“It is meant to stimulate the local economy and increase households’ consumption among the poor and vulnerable segment of the society”, he said.
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Dr Abdulkarim Obaje, NG-CARES National Coordinator said 2 Million people and firms have directly and indirectly benefited from the Programme interventions under first verification result.
According to him, 35 States and FCT earned N77 Billion Naira ($168 Million) 27% of the credit portfolio drawdown.
“On the basis of earnings, Zamfara state ranked first, earning N5.273 Billion with 70,835 beneficiaries.
“This is followed by Bauchi and Ondo States that earned N4.232 Billion with 43,069 beneficiaries and N3.838 Billion with 56,161 beneficiaries respectively.
“Results indicated that Results Area 1 recorded 25,414 beneficiaries as Social Transfer to the Vulnerable, 27,442 beneficiaries as stipends under Labour Intensive Public Works for unemployed youths and 18,078 beneficiaries got grants as Livelihood support.
“Also, 578,348 direct beneficiaries were identified for provision of Basic Services infrastructure in education, health, nutrition and water and sanitation sectors.
In his own speech, Vakporaye expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for the programme.
Vakporaye, whose speech was read by Abubakar Bisala, Head Financial Management, Federal CARE Support Unit acknowledged support from some state governors that released funds to support the programme.
In his remarks, Yusuf Audu, Chairman Community and Social Development Agency (CSDA), Adamawa, said the programme had yielded positive results some communities in the state.
He said the programme had impacted on the communities in the form of provision of quality drinking water, road, education, health services, electricity.
A beneficiary, Altine Abdulkarim, 62, a female farmer from Yola-North Local Government, said she harvested 25 bags of rice and paid her children’s school fees from the gains she made from the programme.
