The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, says the World Bank has extended the federal government’s COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG CARES) programme by 12 months.

Mr Agba, represented by Aso Vakporaye, the chairman, Federal CARES Technical Committee, disclosed this at a ministerial town hall meeting on the NG-Care programme for stakeholders in Enugu on Friday.

The meeting was for stakeholders from Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states.

The minister stated that additional advances would be given to the states after the Independent Verification Agents access their performances in June.

He disclosed that the programme had impacted over two million direct beneficiaries, who are poor and vulnerable Nigerians. He added that the handing over to the incoming administration would affect it.

Mr Agba added that one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s strategies was to intermittently meet with and engage stakeholders as part of government accountability to the citizens.

The minister explained that the outcome of the interaction would form part of what the present government would hand over to the incoming government.

Earlier, Mr Vakporaye, in his welcome address presented by the Ministry’s Senior Procurement Specialist, Abubakar Yusuf, said the meeting was to listen and interact directly with the beneficiaries.

While thanking Mt Buhari’s led FG for initiating the programme, the chairman applauded the state governors for releasing funds to support the programme implementation.

Meanwhile, the various representatives of the five states in the South-East had pledged to sustain the programme to accommodate more vulnerable.

Adaona-Kene Uyanwune, the Enugu State Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, lauded the FG’s commitment towards the programme and prayed that it was sustained to help the more vulnerable.

Some beneficiaries who spoke during the programme also lauded FG and stressed that NG-CARES had helped them in their various chosen businesses.

The NG-CARES is an FG initiative to expand access to livelihood support that provides food security services and grants for poor and vulnerable households to cushion the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

(NAN)