FG borrows $750m to alleviate coronavirus pandemic pains

Minister of Finance Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba,  has said that the Federal Government borrowed about $750 million to alleviate the pains of COVID-19 pandemic. He made this known in Abuja at the official handing over of 40 operational vehicles of the state CARES co-ordinating unit (SCCU) to state governments. Agba explained that although the project was the  brainchild of World Bank, it served as an intervention to rebuild the economy.

According to the Minister, the project which is under the N-CARE programme of the government would be used to kick out poverty from the country. This, he said, aligned with the government’s objective to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty over the next ten years.

Agba urged the states who are beneficiaries of the 40 pick-up vehicles to utilise them efficiently.

The Minister also said that out of the $750 million loan, $20 million would be given to each of the 36 states of the federation while $15 million would go to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),  adding however that the programme   would  be driven and implemented  by subnational governments. In her remarks, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, reiterated that the N-CARES programme is a follow-up to the commitment of the president to ensure that 100 million  Nigerians crossed the poverty line in ten years.