A team of Independent Verification Agents (IVAs) from the World Bank has commended the commitment of Ogun State Government on the effective implementation of the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES)  Programme.

 A five-man team, led by Prof. Andrew Agbor gave the commendation today in Abeokuta, while addressing stakeholders including Project Managers of the programme after the verification and inspection exercise on the quality of disbursement given to the beneficiaries, saying the State had performed to expectation in line with the mandate of the Programme.

Agbor stated that the visit was to ascertain the quality of disbursement to the beneficiaries based on available records by each Delivery Platforms: comprising of Ogun State and Community Development Agency (CSDA), Ogun State FADAMA Coordination Office (OGSFCO) and Ogun State Agricultural and Multi-Purpose Credit Agency (OSAMCA).

The team lead noted that the disbursements done in the pilot phase had  turnaround the fortune of the beneficiaries, urging the State Coordinating Office to scale up the programme to enable more people to benefit.

According to him, “From the reports and results we got based on our interactions with the beneficiaries which is part of our assignments, we have been able to verify the six different Disbursement Link Indicators (DLIs) and discovered that Ogun State has performed well. The achievement is commendable and the beneficiaries are actually eager for more’’.

Speaking earlier,the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Development Partners Coordination and Head, State NG-CARES Coordinating Unit (SCCU), Mr. Bayo Adenekan, who  stated the procedures used during the pilot phase, assured that more DLIs were likely to be created for the State to reach its target in the next six months.