There are reports that the COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus programme, NG-CARES introduced by the Federal Government in collaboration with the World Bank meant to alleviate the adverse effects of COVID-19 on vulnerable groups in Nigeria, has been scandalised in Jigawa State.
The scandal lead the Jigawa State Government to suspended the officials assigned to the implementation of the N1.7 billion COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus program in the state.
The target beneficiaries of the programme, named NG-J-CARES in Jigawa, were peasant farmers, vulnerable households and small businesses. but some of the target farmers told the state governor, Umar Namadi, when he paid unscheduled visits to their rural communities last July.that they were shortchanged in the distribution. exercise.
This prompted the governor to set up a committee to investigate the alleged fraud in the distribution exercise carried out in September 2022.
The committee of enquiry headed by the Chief of Staff to the governor, Mustapha Makama, submitted its report on Tuesday.,indicting officials of the state’s Fadama III office that coordinated the disbursement exercise of fraud.
The officials allegedly gave each farmer N8,000 only, instead of N150,000 and farming inputs as budgeted for.
The government’s spokesperson, Sagir Musa, on Thursday, said the government suspended the state’s coordinator of the Fadama III programme, Aminu Isah, and all the 27 desk officers.
He said the step followed a resolution of the State Execution Council meeting presided over by the governor on Wednesday.
“The State Executive Council deliberated on the Committee of Inquiry Report on NG-J-CARES Result Area 2: Fadama
presented before the Council and approved the immediate suspension of the State Coordinator and all the 27 LGAs Desk Officers of the NG-JCARES Result Area 2: Fadama in the State.
“Similarly, the Council directed the Committee of Inquiry reports to a White Paper committee under the
chairmanship of the State Head of Service (HOS) to review the recommendations of the report for implementation modalities to refunds all money misuse and abuse of contracts under the Fadama project,” Mr Musa said.
The programme also involves an empowerment programme which set aside N410 million for goat breeding and training for youth, targeted at over 5,000 direct and indirect beneficiaries.
In the agricultural sector, where the officials were indicted, over 3,000 farmers were to get farming inputs worth over N678 million under different phases of the programme.
The programme also earmarked N204 million for medium and small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was not immediately clear whether the committee discovered fraud in the other components of the scheme.
The head of the investigative committee, Mr Makama, said it will make the details of its findings public later.
