The failure of Ogun, Imo, Taraba and four other states to repay the money advanced to them has rubbed them their shares of the N45 billion Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus Programme (NG-Cares) of the Federal Government.
The N45.3 billion stimulus package was released to state governments to mitigate their expenses at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in between 2019 and 2021.
The other states that could not partake in the package are Benue, Ebonyi, Kogi and Enugu.
Imo State did not earn any results in the first round and therefore did not qualify for any reimbursement.
Minister of State for Budget and National Planning and the Chairman of the Federal Cares Steering Committee, Clem Agba, who made this disclosure in Abuja yesterday, said 29 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), were able to meet the conditions for getting the reimbursement.
According to Agba, the Federal Government obtained a $750 million credit facility from the World Bank to support the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in implementing the NG-CARES Programme.
According to the schedule, each state is entitled to $20 million, while the FCT was penciled down for $15 million from the World Bank’s credit.
The minister said: “It is a Multi-Sectoral Programme designed to provide immediate emergency relief across various sectors to vulnerable and poor Nigerians, Smallholder Farmers and SMEs that were adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“By design, the NG-CARES is a programme for Result where states and the FCT are reimbursed for expending their own funds if they implement the programme in line with the signed financing agreement, the funds release policy and independent verification agent protocol.” Zamfara, which emerge as the best-performing state, getting a total of N5.27 billion.
Explaining how the programme works, Agba stated that “the states are expected to use their own funds and then we have the independent verification company that will go round the various states to see if the states have actually applied the funds and if they have applied them for the purposes for which they are meant for.
“What we are doing is refunding to the states what they have spent, in the past we will give you the loan and you will go and spend you may or may not use it for the purpose but just to ensure that monies are well spent and they are monitored.
“So, you spend your money first, we agree that this is the loan we will give it to you but we will only give it to you only when we know that you have used it for the purpose and we check how much you have spent and then we release it to you.”
The affected states were however assured by the minister that they stand a chance to be reimbursed after subsequent rounds.
He urged them to adhere to the guidelines outlined in the Programme’s Financing Agreement, Funds Release Policy and Independent Verification Agent Protocol.
He said the programme has impacted over two million direct beneficiaries – mainly poor and vulnerable – in the 36 states and the FCT.