Bayelsa Disburses N13.8bn To NG-CARES Beneficiaries

Bayelsa State government said it has disbursed about N13.8 billion to 466,732 direct beneficiaries in the eight local government areas of the state for the rural and empowerment intervention programme, Bayelsa-CARES.

This was disclosed by the state focal person of Bayelsa-CARES, Mr Timipre Seipulou, during a press conference held in Yenagoa, on the success story of the project which started in January 2022 with a total annual budget of $20 million with a duration of two years.

The Bayelsa-CARES programme was a response to cushion the effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic in collaboration with the federal government’s Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES), to impact the livelihoods of poor individuals, farmers, vulnerable households, communities and owners of micro and small enterprises.

According to Seipulou, about N16.8 billion has been released for the programme as at October, 2024, adding that over one million people have benefited indirectly in almost every community in Bayelsa State.

He stated that given the general success of the programme so far, Governor Douye Diri has approved an extension from the terminal date of June 2024 to December 2024 in the first instance and afterwards, the continuation of Phase 2 from January 2025.