Nigerian Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo is debuting  the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus. This initiative is to be launched alongside a $750m World Bank facility.

Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, announced this in a statement he signed on Thursday titled,  "World bank $750m support will complement FG’s social investment, job creation, poverty reduction programmes–Osinbajo."

The inauguration was a prelude to the National Economic Council meeting chaired by the Vice President at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja.

According to him, the NG-Cares, which would be for two years (2021-2023), will avail states with $20m, while the Federal Capital Territory would receive $15m.

“NG-Cares is a multi-sectoral programme designed to support vulnerable and poor Nigerians to provide essential emergency relief to smallholder farmers and MSMEs, especially those that were adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Programme will build on the varied and extensive Federal Government interventions developed as part of the president’s plan for taking 100 million Nigerians out of poverty and in response to the severe socio-economic fallouts of the pandemic, especially those programmes and plans contained in the Economic Sustainability Plan.

“The essential addition to the Federal Government’s Programme is that the NG-Cares programme will leverage on existing programmes in the states, especially job creation programmes, wealth creation, poverty reduction programmes at the community level such as state cash transfer units, state Fadama or agriculture development agencies, state job creation units and MSME units. All of the support by Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme,” Osinbajo said.