Falana to FG, states: Account for N438bn COVID fund

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana has called on the governments to account for the sum of N438 billion disbursed to revitalise businesses following the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement on Monday, Falana said the release of the funds was confirmed by President Bola Tinubu in his nationwide address, thus Nigerians deserve to know the details of its use in the anti-poverty alleviation programmes.

He said the explanation was necessary because the N438bn, being the last tranche of the $750 million World Bank loan, will be paid back by the Nigerian people.

He said the loan was obtained for implementation of the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG CARES) programme to support businesses impacted during the pandemic with the federal government disbursing an initial advance recoverable sum of N35.3 billion to all the states in March 2022.

Further, he said the federal government under the Buhari administration disbursed another N77 billion to the states and the FCT for the NG-CARES programme for tackling multidimensional poverty in April 2023 making a total of N112 billion.

He said, “However, in 2023, the federal government approved the release of N135.4 as reimbursement to states and FCT for the implementation of the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG CARES) Programme.

“In July 2024, the federal government released over N438 billion in reimbursement to 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory under the Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus programme.

“Kaduna and Anambra states were not included in the list of beneficiaries of the last disbursement on the ground that they did not present results for verification during the exercise.”

Falana added that the president confirmed the disbursement of a total sum of N573 billion in nine months to fight the multidimensional poverty in the country.

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