The World Bank has supported the Cross Rivers State with relief materials to cushion the effects on the destruction of properties in the state during the infamous #EndSARS protests which rocked the state and country simultaneously.
The disclosure was made by the State Commissioner for International Development Cooperation (MIDC), Dr Inyang Asibong as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria.
The support became necessary given the material destruction recorded in some parts of the state. Dr. Asibong stated that the state government through his Ministry had approached the World Bank to seek support, especially in the delivery units of the World Bank Assisted Programme COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (CARES).
According to Dr. Asibong, two parastatals were severely affected in the state during the protests, namely; FADAMA and Enterprise Development Funding (EDF), with most of the items in the aforementioned agencies looted and vandalized by hoodlums.
In lieu of this, the support from World Bank will be pivotal to re-engineering and preparing members of staff to return to work, in preparation of the Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (CARES).
What you should know
- Some of the items donated include furniture, 20-seater conference chairs, air conditioners and inverters, laptop computers and printers, virtual meeting equipment, hybrid inverter with solar among others.
- The platforms that will benefit from the equipment include; CSDA, the state coordinating unit, FADAMA, EDF, Smart City, Public Work Fare and the state Cash Transfer Unit.
What they are saying: Dr. Asibong said: “We know that the poverty index in Nigeria is 40.1 per cent and this is really high. Cross River is lower than the national average, 36.3 per cent, we want to further reduce that our percentage to at least a single digit.
“I want to thank the World Bank for coming to our aid at this point in time and we can assure them we will make the best use of these equipment.”
Commenting on the CARES initiative which the relief material is believed to facilitate, Dr. Asibong said, “The CARES is COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus of the government. It is going to be a state-owned project and Gov. Ben Ayade is so committed about improving the lives of residents in the state.”
On the other hand, the Acting General Manager of Community and Social Development Agency (CSDA), Mr Fidel Udie remarked that the donation confirmed the good working relationship between the state government and the World Bank.
Mr Udie stated that the donation would put the state in a good position to participate in the CARES programme. He said: ‘’This programme is basically meant to target the poor and vulnerable in the society. Gov. Ayade was able to follow up with the World Bank and here we have these equipment to help the delivery units to be ready for this programme.’’
