Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has disclosed that three billion naira has been set aside as grant to the poor, vulnerable and small business holders cushion the adverse effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the economy.
Bello made this known during a one-day key stakeholders’ sensitisation and training programme on COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus – Program for Results (KG CARES) in Lokoja on Thursday.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Folashade Ayoade, the Governor explained that N3billion fund was captured in the 2021 budget and has been set aside to expand access to livelihood support and food security for the poor and vulnerable.
Focal person and State Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Asiwaju Idris Asiru, explained that the essence of KG-CARES is to mitigate the effects of the harsh economic environment occasioned by COVID-19.
“In early 2020, the world started to witness huge disruptions over COVID-19 related issues. COVID-19 forced lockdowns and restrictions across the globe and across sectors, which almost sniffed life out of humanity.
“Based on this, many businesses were either shut down or operated at far less than optimal capacity. Expectedly, this led to inability of businesses to cover their recurrent costs, leading to upsurge in unemployment, inflation, poverty and other disturbing social and economic indices.
“There is no doubt that, our people who were poor in 2019 have been made poorer in 2020 and, even a significant proportion that were not previously poor are now either poor or vulnerable,” he said.
In his remarks, Mallam Momoh Dauda, General Manager, Kogi State Community and Social Development Agency (KGCSDA), the implementing agency for KG-CARES, said that the agency will not disappoint the government, saying the agency is battle ready to implement the programme.
“The World Bank is trying to assist in Nigeria and is giving a loan of about 170 million dollars to all the states.
“Each state will be entitled to 20 million dollars while FCT will have 50 million dollars to address the effects of the COVID-19,’’ Dauda said.
Dr Abdulkarim Obaje, National Coordinator, Federal Project Support Unit (FPSU) of Community and Social Development Project (CSDP) of the World Bank, commended the Federal and State Governments as well as the World Bank for rising to the challenge.
KG-CARES is a Kogi State Government’s version of NG-CARES aimed at mitigating the global effects of COVID-19 on people and businesses in the state.
