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FG efforts to rebuild N’East, Niger Delta boosted with EU €20m support
President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government’s move to rebuild Boko Haram ravaged North East and Niger Delta regions may have been boosted with European Union (EU) pledge to support his administration with €20million.
EU Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Michael Arrion, said during a visit to the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun in her office, that EU has set aside €20million to support the ongoing efforts of the Federal Government to rebuild some parts of the North East and Niger Delta regions.
According to a statement from the finance ministry on Tuesday, the funds would be offered to the two states in the form of budget support. The statement added that the funding was part of EU commitment to assist Nigerian government in rebuilding the troubled North East region.
“We have specific objective for creating this instrument and it is to address the root cause of migration. We are presenting this initiative within the framework of the global response to irregular migration.
“Today, we have a few thousand Nigerians in Europe, and we feel we have the responsibility of attracting them to come back to Nigeria. By investing in Africa, we will be creating jobs. We will be mixing grants with loans. We believe the grants will have a leveraged effect,” the statement quoted the EU Ambassador to have said.
Read also: Nigeria insists on January deadline for airlines’ automated payment charges
The statement noted that the EU has in the last two years invested over $300bn in Africa.
Adeosun in her reaction stated that all the financial analysis needed to expedite the support to the states had been put in place, pointing out that the Fiscal Sustainability Plan required a 21-point fiscal reform programme that enhanced transparency, accountability and efficiency.
The Finance Minister went on to explain that the funding arrangement would help in healing the wounds caused by insurgent activities in the North East and would also give hope to the Niger Delta people who have been impacted by the activities of militancy in the region and the environmental problems it has brought to the area.
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