The Federal Government has commended the Zamfara State Government for prioritising the poor and vulnerable in its development agenda.
The state also got commendation for its implementation of the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) Programme.
Dr Abdulkarim Obaje, the National Coordinator of the Federal CARES Support Unit (FCSU), of the World Bank-assisted NG-CARES programme, made the commendation in a statement on Monday, in Abuja.
Obaje spoke against the backdrop of the federal team of NG-CARES’ Implementation Support mission and advocacy visit to Gov. Bello Matawalle of Zamfara.
According to him, the state is one of the highest funders of NG-CARES activities in the country.
The national coordinator noted that the N2.6 billion budget support the Zamfara State Government injected into the NG-CARES programme was yielding positive results.
He praised Matawalle for personally monitoring the implementation of NG-CARES in the state, adding that the state would benefit more when they injected more funds into the programme.
Obaje explained that investing into the programme had a double positive impact.
“Not only will state governments who invest in the programme get additional funds in return from the NG-CARES programme, more poor and vulnerable citizens would have been impacted positively.
“What Gov. Bello Matawalle is doing with NG-CARES is automatically supporting President Muhammadu Buhari’s government‘s vision of lifting 100 million people out of poverty within ten years.
“This visit to Zamfara is preparatory to the coming of the Independent Verification Agent, to verify claims of results achieved by the states and FCT.
“I can state that the performance of Zamfara State is impressive. The state is using agreed rules and verification protocols of the NG-CARES programme.”
Responding, Matawalle re-stated the state government’s commitment to alleviating poverty in the state.
According to the governor, such development programmes have a positive impact not only on the economy of the state but also on security.
He stated that the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), that initiated the NG-CARES programme, would continue to support its implementation.
The NG-CARES Programme development objective is to expand access to livelihood support and food security services, as well as grants for the poor and vulnerable households.