29 States, FCT Benefit from World Bank’s $142m Poverty Reduction Grant

Twenty nine states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are drawing from a World Bank $140million grant to Nigeria.

To benefit from the programme, each participating state would determine the "poorest of the poor communities" based on certain indices provided by the global bank.

Among the indices are the level of infrastructure in the communities, including a number of educational institutions, health facilities, roads and number of pupils enrolled in schools.

Similarly, benefiting states are to counter fund the programmes with N50million every year.

The General Manager of the Niger State Community and Social  Development Agency, Malam Ahmed Usman, who disclosed this while briefing journalists in Minna on Tuesday said the first phase of the programme would end next year but that the World Bank had given assurance that the scheme would be extended for another five years "because of its positive impact on the participating communities and its ability to reduce poverty among the people.”

Usman said the state government had the potential to draw N1.2 billion but that the government had so far collected N778million in addition to counter-funding the project with N150million in the last three years.

The general manager disclosed that 120 micro projects had been executed in 20 local government areas participating in the scheme, pointing out that some of the projects executed included sinking of boreholes, provision of electricity, construction of schools and empowerment of women and the capacity building of junior and senior staff of local government areas.

He however said execution of 48 micro projects approved by the agency for the first quarter of the year had not started, but gave the assurance that the projects would start before the end of the year.

On the poverty situation in the state M Usman said Agwara and Rijau were identified as the "poorest local government areas in the state," saying the richest local government areas "are the urban local government areas of Chanchaga, Bida, Kontagora, Lapai and Suleja."

The general manager said the major challenge the agency is facing is "how to meet the huge number of requests from communities" saying: "As at today, we have more than 1,000 requests but we are treating them on first come first served basis."