The World Bank has got a proposal of 1.5 billion dollars to states as an economic stimulus to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, said.
Ahmed briefed State House correspondents on Thursday after the virtual National Economic Council (NEC) meeting anchored from the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The first-ever virtual NEC meeting and the fourth for the year was presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
She stated, “The World Bank keeps up that the effect of the COVID-19 on Nigeria will prompt serious intensified human and monetary cost, which will move the nation into a downturn.
“The World Bank arranged a proposed bundle for guaranteed monetary help for the Federal Government
“This will likewise include approach based arrangement spending support for the Federal Government, concentrating on measures to keep up full scale budgetary dependability and make monetary space for the proposed boost.
“The World Bank bundle has likewise got a proposition of 1.5billion dollars for the states and this bundle will be committed to the states and it will be a program for results which the states are as of now used to executing.”
According to her, the immediate financial relief for the states will include the acceleration of an existing programme to enable disbursement by the end of September.
She said that by the end of September, the 1.5 billion dollars plan would have been disbursed to the states.
“We are looking at an average of between N150billion to N200billion based on the plan to the 36 states. These are states that have already made some particular commitments and achievements so that they will be able to get immediate disbursements of parts of these funds.’’
Ahmed said the ministry made a presentation to the council on the structures that the Federal Government was looking at and putting in place, or had put in place to tackle the challenges of COVID-
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