The Federal Government of Nigeria has recently disbursed a staggering N135.4 billion to the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as part of the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) program. NG-CARES is a World Bank-assisted initiative with a budget of $750 million, aiming to provide much-needed support to the poor and vulnerable in the country.

According to Dr. Abdulkarim Obaje, the National Coordinator of NG-CARES, the top three best-performing states in this round of assessment were Nasarawa, Cross River, and Zamfara. Nasarawa state earned an impressive N13,697,828,496.96, Cross River received N10,944,747,818.84, and Zamfara was allocated N10,231,055,267.82. These figures demonstrate the success of the NG-CARES program in addressing multidimensional poverty in the country.

Dr. Abdulkarim Obaje commended Sen. Atiku Bagudu, along with the state governors, the FCT Minister, and the World Bank, for their support in making NG-CARES a resounding success. Their collective efforts have enabled the program to serve as a shock response mechanism and a distribution channel to reach the poor and vulnerable with essential support.

NG-CARES is a performance-based program that evaluates the achievements of states and the FCT in their efforts to support the underprivileged. The funds were disbursed based on the results achieved by each state. This disbursement is the second independent assessment of results under the NG-CARES program.

The successful implementation of the NG-CARES program owes much to the leadership and coordination provided by the Minister for Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Atiku Bagudu. His guidance at the federal level has been instrumental in ensuring the smooth execution of the program at the state and FCT levels.

The program is strategically designed by the Federal Government to expand access to livelihood support, food security services, and grants for poor households and firms. It is implemented through 158 integrated Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of all state governments and the FCT Administration, leveraging their well-proven track record of performance in previous donor-supported assistance initiatives.

It aims to tackle poverty from multiple angles, providing assistance to those most in need. By integrating various government entities, NG-CARES ensures a holistic and efficient approach to supporting the vulnerable segments of society.