Jigawa government disburses N1.7 billion World Bank COVID-19 aid

Jigawa State Governor Muhammad Badaru on Thursday approved the release of 1.7 billion naira to vulnerable groups in the state under the Bank's COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus program worldwide.

Beneficiaries of the program will be drawn from the state social registry which includes peasants, vulnerable households and small business owners.

The program, introduced by the federal government in collaboration with the World Bank, aimed to mitigate the adverse effects of COVID-19 on vulnerable groups in the country.

Several states launched the program in January.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the state's main opposition party, has accused the Jigawa government of disbursing the funds towards the start of the campaign for the state's general elections. next year because he plans to use the funds to buy votes.

Umar Kyari, deputy director of the media and publicity directorate of PDP gubernatorial candidate Mustapha Lamido, told reporters that the state government deliberately delayed disbursement of the fund to help the poor as a result of the COVID -19 pandemic.

“Over the years, the APC has failed the people of Jigawa, they have nothing to campaign for in the next election, they now resort to legitimate donor intervention to illegitimately woo voters.< /p>

"Interestingly, the people are wise enough, they have already rejected the government's APC, and no amount of intimidation or vote buying will win them the support of voters in the state," Mr. Kyari.

But state finance commissioner Ibrahim Umar told reporters that the timing of the disbursement should be less of a concern for people, but instead they should look at the impact it will have on groups indigents of the State.

“There is nothing to worry about that the state has not implemented the program since January, the question is what is the impact of the program on the targeted beneficiaries, this is what people should consider," the commissioner said.

Mr. Umar said the program is designed as a performance for a result, he said the World Bank has already advanced N700 million for the launch of the program in the state and N1 billion has been released by the state to supplement the advance payment to meet the first six-month target.

The official said the state has allocated around N400 million to 3,266 beneficiaries under the cash transfer, with each beneficiary receiving N10,000.

For the livelihood category under the program, the state intends to establish an empowerment program that includes goat herding and youth training using more than 410 million naira targeting over 5,000 beneficiaries, the official added.

Furthermore, in the agricultural sector, Mr. Umar said over 3,000 farmers will receive agricultural inputs worth over N678 million under the scheme.

The scheme has also earmarked N204 million for small and medium business owners whose businesses are being ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic, the commissioner said.

PREMIUM TIMES learned that after the disbursement of 1.7 billion naira, the state expects 3.4 billion naira from the World Bank for the continuation of the program if the disbursement passes the evaluation of the World Bank .

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