The National Coordinator of the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES), Dr. Abdulkareem Obaje, has disclosed that the programme has positively impacted the lives of over 70 million Nigerians across the country.
Dr. Obaje made this known during a courtesy visit to the office of Jigawa State Governor, Malam Umar Namadi. He explained that NG-CARES, which was initiated in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, was designed to help Nigerians recover from the economic and social shocks caused by the pandemic.
According to him, “The NG-CARES programme has run for four years, and we have reimbursed states to the tune of $696 million. We have reached about 70 million Nigerians through this intervention. We have passed through the stage of emergency and recovery, and we are now focused on building resilience among the poor and vulnerable.”
Dr. Obaje further revealed that the initiative started with a total of $750 million, adding that states like Jigawa have played a vital role in implementing interventions that directly touch the lives of citizens.
“Jigawa State is one of our frontline states. The state has drawn about $9.6 million under the NG-CARES programme, out of the expected $30 million, depending on the selected Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) and how they were implemented. The implementation here has been very successful, with high credibility and strong ownership,” he stated.
In his remarks, Governor Umar Namadi reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to deepening grassroots development and sustaining programmes that directly impact the lives of citizens.
He said, “I can beat my chest to say I am the only governor who campaigned for the continuation of NG-CARES, not only at the Governors’ Forum but even at the World Bank level. I told the then Country Director that if there is any programme by the World Bank that truly touches the lives of poor people in Nigeria, it is NG-CARES. Therefore, I strongly believe in the need for its continuation.”
Governor Namadi added that the proposed NG-CARES 2.0 is an initiative inspired by Jigawa State’s success story under the current phase of the programme.
By Ibrahim Muhammad
