Governors In Talks With World Bank To Support States — Fayemi

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) says it is in touch with the World Bank for funds for states to mitigate the economic and social costs of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Governor Kayode Fae=yemi of Ekiti, the NGF chairman, said this in a statement on Monday.

Mr Fayemi also said there are ongoing plans to include disbursement of existing and new financing for states under the State Fiscal, Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme-for-Results (PforR) project.

The SFTAS is an agreement signed between the Federal Government and the World Bank, designed to strengthen the fiscal transparency, accountability and sustainability in Nigerian states.

The initiative aims to improve states revenue, increase fiscal efficiency in public expenditure and reduce their debts with a grant of $750 million open to the 36 states between 2018 and 2021, according to their performances.

In February, the World Bank announced that 12 states missed out on its $4.5 million (N1.37 billion) 2018 grant for not meeting the eligibility criteria.

The Forum also expressed gratitude to the Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) set up by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for their pledge to support states to increase their capacity to mitigate the spread of the virus and care for confirmed cases through the construction of isolation centres and the distribution of personal protective equipment to states.

The CACOVID Relief Fund is domiciled at the CBN. As of April 1, it has realised about N15.325 billion as contributions to tackle coronavirus in the country.

“Ongoing plans include accelerated disbursement of existing and new financing for States under the State Fiscal, Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability Programme-for-Results, and mitigation and recovery support for expenditures to protect livelihoods, support local economic activity and recovery over the next 18 months to 2 years.

“The forum also expressed full support for the federal government’s timely implementation of the petrol price modulation mechanism to eliminate petrol subsidy permanently in the country.”