According to her, “the loan is part of windows of opportunities to mitigate the effect of Covid-19.” She maintained that the diverse and severe impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic had continued to be felt across the world with significant consequences on informal businesses, households that survive on daily income and the peasant farmers who depended on their farm produce, to survive.
The minister also pointed out that the Steering Committee was made up of carefully selected Ministers and Permanent Secretaries while the Technical Committee, made up of Directors of key MDAs, had to be in place to ensure that the implementation of the N-CARES was in line with Federal Government Priorities, as outlined in the Economic Sustainability Plan….
“The Government has carefully selected you as members of the Federal Steering and Technical Committees because of the important role your MDAs play in the recovery of the Nigerian economy as well as the fulfillment of lifting 100 million people out of poverty; and I have no doubt you can deliver” she maintained.
Earlier, the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, in his welcome address, said that the N-CARES programme was a multi-sectoral programme, designed to provide immediate emergency relief to the vulnerable and poor Nigerians, smallholder farmers and SMEs who were adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As you may be aware, the Novel Covid-19 pandemic has ravaged so many economies in the world including the Nigerian economy. Nigeria economy is currently faced with perhaps the most challenging economic downturn in its history; as most of the sectors have been adversely affected, hence, government intervention has become very crucial.”
