Nigeria Cares (NG-CARE), a program to support micro and small-medium enterprises to mitigate the consequences of the feared COVID-19 epidemic, has been given a one-year extension by the World Bank.
This information was revealed by Prince Clem Agba, Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, at the ministerial town hall meeting for NG-CARE recipients from the states of Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, and Rivers, which was held in Benin City.
He said that as many of the states would be gaining new governors and would be impacted by the COVID-19 cash crunch, there was also approval to provide cash advances to 36 states of the union.
Agba said that it is very important that livelihoods be kept alive to enable people to keep their jobs, if not create new ones.
He said they gave one billion naira to each state during the pandemic, with the exception of Lagos, which got 10 billion. Kano State got a little more, and they still have to get the $750 million World Bank loan to support the states in three basic areas.
He also noted that last year’s flooding affected food security and the supply chains for food, so they had to approach the World Bank for an extension of the project for another year to June 2024.
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