The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, has reaffirmed President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to improving the lives of poor and vulnerable Nigerians through targeted social and economic interventions.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday at a stakeholders’ meeting on the Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) Programme Additional Financing, Bagudu said the president remains determined to restore livelihoods through food security and support for micro and small enterprises.
He described Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda as a driver of impactful programmes that are transforming the lives of the underprivileged across the country.
“President Bola Tinubu’s visionary leadership and Renewed Hope Agenda have created a favourable macroeconomic environment, leading to the proliferation of highly impactful programmes aimed at vulnerable and underprivileged groups,” he told stakeholders, including commissioners of finance, budget, and economic planning from all 36 states and the FCT.
The NG-CARES initiative was designed to cushion the impact of multiple crises—including climate change, conflict, natural disasters, and the socio-economic fallout from COVID-19—on vulnerable communities.
To implement the programme, the Federal Government secured a $750 million credit facility from the World Bank via the International Development Association (IDA) in June 2021.
RECOMMENDED POSTS
The funds enabled states and the FCT to execute poverty-reduction programmes while also boosting local economic activity.
The results have been significant, with over 16 million Nigerians benefiting directly from the initiative across the country.
In light of this success, state governments—through the Federal Government—have requested an additional $500 million in financing to scale up the NG-CARES programme.
The World Bank and the Federal Executive Council have already approved the request, and it is currently awaiting the National Assembly’s endorsement.
Bagudu explained that the stakeholder meeting aimed to deepen participants’ understanding of the design and institutional framework for implementing the additional financing phase of NG-CARES.
He said collaboration between federal and subnational agencies was vital for success.He stressed the importance of sustaining the intervention, especially for a country like Nigeria with a population exceeding 200 million.
“The NG-CARES AF will progressively upscale the successes achieved under the existing programme, foster stronger coordination between the federal and state governments, and accelerate interventions to address current challenges,” he said.
Bagudu assured stakeholders that the Tinubu administration would maintain strict quality control, monitoring, and oversight, while providing institutional support and technical guidance through relevant federal agencies.
