Gombe lifted 648,414 residents out of poverty with N40b

Gombe State government has invested N40 billion to lift 648,414 individuals in the state out of poverty and provide infrastructural facilities across various sectors.

Governor Inuwa Yahaya disclosed this on Thursday during the North East Consultative Meeting on the Review of Performance of Independent Verification Agents (IVA) and Validation of Achievements under the Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) Programme, held in Gombe.

Represented by his Commissioner for Trade, Industry, and Tourism, Nasir Mohammed Aliyu, the governor stated that the funds were expended under the NG-CARES programme, locally known as GO-CARES in the state, and that the interventions were spread across all parts of the state.

He said the programme’s achievements in Gombe State were testament to the government’s dedication to improving the lives of its citizens.

Also speaking, the state project coordinator of GO-CARES, Malam Haruna Imam, said the programme was launched in 2022 in the state, adding that their interventions under the initiative include providing grants to petty traders, building of schools, hospitals, provision of water borehole and agricultural interventions among others.

The Director at the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and Chairman of the Technical Committee for NG-CARES, Auwal Mohammed, explained that the meeting serves as both an accountability measure and a learning opportunity to inform the NG-CARES 2.0 scale-up programme, as the next phase is set to commence in 2026.

He said the outcome of the meeting was expected to shape the future of the programme and its impact on the lives of Nigerians.

While the National Coordinator of NG-CARES, Dr. Abdulkarim Obaje, emphasised the programme’s significance in transforming the lives of Nigerians through expanding access to livelihood support, food security services, and grants for poor and vulnerable households and firms, he urged state governments to engaging more with it in the coming years to help alleviate poverty across the nation.