Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau, has lauded the World Bank for its COVID -19 interventions in Nigeria, to facilitate economic recovery.
The governor gave the commendation when he received a delegation of an Assessment Readiness Team, for the takeoff of the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG CARES) programme in the state, on Friday at Government House, Jos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that N-CARES programme is supported by the world bank, in response to the economic hardship that affected individuals, households and businesses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said Non Government Organisations have helped in cushioning the hardship experienced as a result of the pandemic, saying, without them the impact of COVID -19 would be worse in Nigeria.
He thanked the federal government and the world bank for the interventions, saying the state will address gaps observed by the team to enable the smooth takeoff of the programme in Plateau,.
“It came with its devastating effect, but definitely we have to move on, this is one of the ways that we must move on through this programme,” he said.
He assured the team that the infrastructure they require will be put in place to effectively implement N-CARES which is a valuable programme for the benefit of Plateau people.
Earlier in her remarks, Mrs. Jummai Idakwo, the leader of Readiness Assessment Team for Plateau, said that the visit was to encourage the state government to provide a conducive environment for the programme in the state.
She said the gesture would help in meeting the aspirations of the poor and the vulnerable in Plateau, adding that the visit is also aimed at improving strategic communication to facilitate the smooth disbursement of the funds for the programme.
“The visit is expected to improve the facilitation of the N-CARES given the advantage of the experiences of some of the existing platforms of the state as we have observed,” she said.
