Malam Suleiman Odapu, Information and Communication Officer, Federal CARES Support Unit, FCSU, stated this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

Odapu quoted the National Coordinator, NG-CARES Programme, Dr Abdulkarim Obaje, as saying this, explaining that the funds were disbursed based on the results achieved by the states and FCT during the third Independent Verification Agency (IVA) assessment carried out in January 2024.

He stated that from the earned results, Zamfara, Nasarawa and Plateau states emerged first three earning with N49,182,347,834.58, N27,204,679,444.17 and N26,312,588,262.79 billion respectively.

Obaje, however, said that Kaduna and Anambra states did not present results for verification during the exercise.

The national coordinator expressed the hope that all 36 states and FCT would participate in the fourth IVA exercise scheduled for September 2024.

“This huge reimbursement is aimed at supporting the state governments and the FCT in addressing the pressing challenges of multidimensional poverty.

READ ALSO: Gbolagunte: CJN, Makinde, lawyers, associates pay tributes

“It will also enable them to deepen efforts at improving the livelihoods and resilience of the poor and vulnerable segment of the population,” he said.

Obaje further stated that the resources were targetting at social intervention programmes in the States and FCT.

He expressed confidence that the resources would be deployed generously to bring succour and meaningful improvement to the lives of many poor and underserved Nigerians.

Obaje thanked the federal government, particularly the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Abubakar Bagudu for the initiative and sterling leadership provided to the programme.

This, according to him, enabled state governors and the Minister of FCT to invest heavily in NG-CARES.

He specially commended the FCT minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, governors and staff of NG-CARES nationwide for the successes recorded so far under the programme.

The NG-CARES programme is designed to mitigate the negative impact of the socio-economic shocks occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic.

It also aimed at addressing other shocks through the provision of grants and basic social infrastructure services in poor communities.

The funds are channelled towards various projects, including; social safety nets, food security, and small business support, adding that efforts were being made to ensure that the assistance reaches the most indigent and vulnerable Nigerians.

The programme which started in 2021 will close by December 2024.

Source: NAN

The post NG-CARES: FG releases over N438bn to 34 states, FCT appeared first on Frontpageng.

There is a viral video where human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, made allusion to the sum of N135billion given to the 36 states in December 2023 at a memorial event in honour of Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti.

It is important to state here that Mr. Falana has a strong reputation for exaggerations and embellishments. What the Lagos lawyer rendered in that trending video was total misrepresentation of facts. He also did not tell his audience the real reason the said amount was released to the States under the World Bank-funded NG-CARES Programme.

Contrary to the wrong impression of wasteful and frivolous spending being conveyed to the public by Mr. Falana, it should be stressed that it is the Lagos lawyer who needs to get himself acquainted with the issue in contention.

While government needs critics as watchdogs for accountability and to engender more transparency in the management of public affairs and finance, that sacred duty should not be left in the hands of those who have elevated half-truths and embellishments as their article of trade.

Here are the facts:

1. The whole global economy is still reeling from the after-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic with the attendant disruptions to the global supply chain, which the world is yet to fully recover from.
2. Covid-19 exacerbated poverty around the world, especially as a result of loss of livelihoods in rural communities and among the urban poor.
3. Post-Covid-19, the World Health Organisation and World Bank are still supporting countries to strengthen their health systems and emergency preparedness so nations can be in much better position to deal with other public health emergencies that may occur in future. Just last year, there was an outbreak of Diphtheria, monkeypox, and Lassa Fever in more than 20 states in Nigeria that government effectively contained.

In a bid to further manage the aftermath of Covid-19 in line with the framework of the WHO and the World Bank, the Federal Government, in December 2023, disbursed N135.4billion to the states following Independent Assessment of results achieved under the Nigeria  Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus Programme. The money, which Mr. Falana attempted to scandalise in the viral video, was released to address social and economic crisis created by Covid-19. This is not peculiar to Nigeria. Every  country in the world today is still dealing with many socio-economic problems caused by Covid-19.

READ ALSO: On presidential yacht and other matters, By Temitope Ajayi

The aim of the NG-CARES Programme backed by World Bank, which is being implemented in all the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, is to mitigate the economic and social shocks faced by vulnerable people, who are yet to get their livelihoods back as a result of the lockdown occasioned by the pandemic. The project is structured as one that delivers results. Only states that have implemented according to laid-down procedures prescribed in the Financing Agreement, the Funds Release Policy, and the Independent Verification Agent Protocol get reimbursement for the money already spent.

Therefore, the money Mr. Falana mentioned with the intent to ridicule the Federal Government and incite the public against the government and President Tinubu was disbursed based on the results achieved by the States and FCT in their efforts at supporting poor and vulnerable Nigerians under the NG-CARES Programme.

The “top three best performing states in the  Second Round of Assessment are Nasarawa, which got N13,697,828,496.96, Cross River N10,944,747,818.84 and Zamfara N10,231,055,267.82,” according to NG-CARES National Coordinator, Abdulkarim Obaje, in a statement.

While government needs critics as watchdogs for accountability and to engender more transparency in the management of public affairs and finance, that sacred duty should not be left in the hands of those who have elevated half-truths and embellishments as their article of trade. Criticisms should be constructive and fact-based.

*Ajayi is Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity

The post Femi Falana, Covid-19 fund and the art of misrepresentation appeared first on Frontpageng.

The judgment of history is usually the most enduring, and as President Muhammadu Buhari weighs anchor in less than three weeks, posterity will be impartial, and, therefore, kind to him.

One signpost of the administration is its care and kindness to Nigerians. Quietly. Without fuss. No adulation or self-aggrandizement.

We know the very visible ones. The Social Investment Programme (SIP), described as the most ambitious and effective in Africa. In fact, so actuated is the government by its duty of care that it established the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, in 2019. The main reason was; care, care, care for Nigerians. The weak, the poor, the vulnerable, the hurting, those who fate has compelled to hold the shorter end of the stick, or even no stick at all.

The World Bank has commended Nigeria for the successes recorded in the implementation of NG-CARES, and has extended the programme by another year, till June 2024.

We know of the N-power programme, the conditional cash transfer, the home grown school feeding, and the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP). Also there is the social register, a repository of information on people who need social assistance, and who get succor on a regular basis. Over 50 million people are in that register.

These welfarist interventions give a window into the kind soul of the President, a man some people have not bothered to discern, dissect and decipher. They just deliberately stay in the trenches of the past, soused and marooned in apocryphal beliefs: oh, he ruled with an iron fist as military leader. He herded people into jail. He imprisoned journalists through Decree 4. He also had Decree 2, which gave him power to detain anyone indefinitely. No human face. He’s a Fulani, and therefore, a herdsman, who supports his people to attack farmers. Religious bigot, who does not recognize any other faith. True? False. And I should know. Why? Because I’ve worked with him closely for 8 years, and I can say I know the man Muhammadu Buhari, apart from the myth and the deliberate misconceptions.

READ ALSO: Imagine if there was no Mike Adenuga, By Femi Adesina

History will adequately record the many ways in which President Buhari has quietly cared for Nigerians, but today, let’s look at the one called NG-CARES, silently attending to the needs of millions of our countrymen and women.

NG-CARES is the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus Programme. It is part of efforts geared towards achieving the core objectives of the Economic Sustainability Plan put in place in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The world was in dire straits after the advent of the Coronavirus in 2019. Borders were locked down internationally, economies crashed, oil prices collapsed, while people were also collapsing like ninepins. When the dust settled, over seven million people were dead globally, with almost a billion infected by the virus.

Putting on its thinking cap, Federal Government sought and obtained a 750 million USD credit facility from the World Bank to support the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in the implementation of the NG-CARES Programme. The purpose is to mitigate the economic and social shocks faced by the poor and vulnerable as a result of the global lockdown.

The 36 States got allocated 20 million USD each and the Federal Capital Territory 15 million. According to the Supervising Minister, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, it is a multi-sectoral program designed to provide immediate emergency relief across various sectors, to vulnerable and poor Nigerians, Smallholder Farmers and SMEs that were adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hear the Minister: “By design, the NG-CARES is a Programme for Result (PforR) where States and the FCT are reimbursed for expending their own funds if they implement the programme in line with the signed Financing Agreement, the Funds Release Policy and Independent Verification Agent (IVA) Protocol.”

NG-CARES was launched on 20th January, 2022, by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo SAN. The National Coordinator is Dr Abdul Karim Obaje, a man with vast experience of public service.

Federal Government on Thursday 13th April 2023, disbursed the total sum of 45.3 billion naira to 29 States and the FCT. The results of the first round of assessment shows that States and the FCT are improving on their strides to alleviate poverty in line with the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari. The Programme has impacted over 2 million direct beneficiaries who are poor and vulnerable in the 36 States and the FCT. The immediate target is 5 million people.

The World Bank has commended Nigeria for the successes recorded in the implementation of NG-CARES, and has extended the programme by another year, till June 2024.

Some revisionists are busy, trying to obfuscate issues, and obliterate the achievements of the Buhari administration. But truth is like cork in water. The more you press it down, the more it stays afloat.

The Bank’s Task Team Leader for Nigeria, Professor Foluso Okunmadewa, says: “We are actually very proud and of course excited to be part of this. The World Bank is very proud to be a partner of the Federal and State Governments on the NG-CARES initiative.”

Okunmadewa submits that there had been substantial results.

Some revisionists are busy, trying to obfuscate issues, and obliterate the achievements of the Buhari administration. But truth is like cork in water. The more you press it down, the more it stays afloat. After he retires to his native Daura, in Katsina State, we will always be glad that the honest man was here. I mean those who are fair minded, but who happen to number in scores of millions.

*Adesina is Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity

The post NG-Cares: How Buhari quietly attends to needs of Nigerians appeared first on Frontpageng.