FG Briefs Governors On How To Access $500m World Bank’s Health Fund
The 36 states governors of the federation, under the aegis of the National Governors Forum, on Tuesday, were briefed by the Federal Government on how to access a $500m World Bank fund, for the development of their health facilities.
The Chairman, Nigerian Governors’ Forum and Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulazeez Yari, disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of the forum’s meeting held inside the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The forum had received presentations from federal ministries, departments and agencies as well as such international development partners as the United Nations Population Fund and the World Bank.
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Yari said, “There is a fund from the World Bank that states cannot access. So, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health briefed us on how we can access the $500m.
“Usually, we (state governors) used to meet. Today, this meeting was for so many agencies to do presentations to us.
“Some of them were ordered by Mr. President to come and do presentations where they need the governors to come in for the betterment of the states.
“We are supposed to take eight presentations, but because of time constraints, we only took two.
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“We have taken that of the United Nations Population Fund/World Bank and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; and the next one we are taking is that of the National Mathematical Centre, National Population Commission and NASENI.
“The NNPC has briefed us on its current programmes and other agencies will do same. This will continue. We will take NCC (Nigerian Communications Commission) on multiple taxation. So, we decided to step them down until November.”
Yari who said that the officials who briefed the governors were directed by President Muhammadu Buhari, added that the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health briefed the governors on how to go about accessing the fund.
He however did not provide further details on the briefing.
