Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Dr. Hyacinth Alia, has received commendations from the World Bank, over his role at ensuring the successful Implementation of the Nigerian Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus Program (NG-CARES), in Benue State.
The Governor received the praise on Thursday, July 13th, 2023, when the Independent Verification Agent Team sent by the World Bank were in the state, to assess the level of implementation of the Program.
The NG-CARES Program is an initiative of the Nigerian government in collaboration with the World Bank to provide support to the most vulnerable households and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Team Leader of the Independent Verification Agents, Dr. Ayopo Olotu, while acknowledging the successful implementation of the program in the State, also commended the Result Areas of the program for their cooperation, which according to him, has facilitated the verification exercise.
While receiving the delegation on behalf of the state government, the Ag Director General of the Benue State Planning Commission, Dr. Jerome Andohol, appreciated the Governor for his unwavering support for the program in the state.
He however, expressed concern over interference in the program in the past by individuals, seeking to manipulate the system to gain cheap money.
Andohol appealed for such individuals to desist from act, saying the benefits of helping others always come back in unexpected ways.
Also in her remarks, the State Coordinator of the NG-CARES, Mrs. Jacyntha Tor-Wombo, while also appreciating Governor Alia and Dr Andohol for their support for the NG-CARES Program, acknowledged that although mistakes were made in the past, it has become paramount for the stakeholders to retrace steps in order to ensure the objectives of the program are achieved.
Recall that the state was unable to qualify for any benefits of this programme few years back but was rather indebted to the tune of N265million for failure to implement the program diligently.
But with the success recorded by the implementation of the programme by the Alia led administration, there will be funds available for the state to pay back and qualify for the minimum grant of N500million as a result of continuous implementation of the program.
Sir Tersoo Kula
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Benue State.
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