The Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, on Tuesday, disclosed that N502.3 billion has so far been spent by the Federal Government to stabilize the economy after being hit by the rampaging COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking in Abuja at the national dialogue on COVID-19 economic impact and assessment of national and states’ recovery plans and policy options, the Minister explained that Nigeria was deeply affected by the pestilence because it was recovering from recession before COVID-19 led to an all-time fall of crude oil prices being the economic pillar of the country.
She listed key interventions to include: the establishment of a N500 billion COVID-19 crisis intervention fund to finance the upgrade and improvement of healthcare facilities; creation of a Special Public Works Programme to employ 774,000 people, among others.
The Minister added that the development demanded a cocktail of stimulus packages which were administered to rescue the economy from the doldrums.
She said: “You know that in the 2020 budget, N500 billion was appropriated and it was fully funded. But apart from that, we also have the economic sustainability plan totaling N2.3 billion in the form of intervention funds from the CBN, which means loans are given to the private sector and they pay back later.”
Mrs Ahmed, however, disclosed that lessons were learnt from the pandemic, especially the urgent need to fix the challenges of the health sector.
According to her, the myriads of challenges plaguing the health sector propelled the incumbent to pursue proactive and people-oriented policies with an emphasis on human capital development and providing critical infrastructure for the well-being of Nigerians.
