Terrorism: FG releases N1.6bn for safe school project
By Adetokunbo Fakeye
Federal Government today said it had released the sum of $10m (N1.6bn) for the safe school initiative.
Finance minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala revealed this while speaking after a meeting with the German Minister of Development, Mr. Gerd Mueller.
The project an initiative of former British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, Publisher of Thisday Newspapers, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena and Business Mogul Aliko Dangote would benefit no fewer than 500 schools located in the troubled North-East region, which is meant to ensure the safety of schools within the region.
Federal government according to the minister released the sum followed an endorsement of the fund on May 9 by President Goodluck Jonathan, as a result of public outcries that greeted the abduction of over 200 school girls from Chibok, a community in Borno State.
Okonjo-Iweala said the approval for the release of the fund was given on Wednesday by President Jonathan adding that with the approval, the $10m would be transferred into a Special Trust Fund account.
Okonjo-Iweala said that the federal government would be meeting with top officials from the World Bank, African Development Bank and the United Kingdom to fine-tune strategies on the governing structure of the fund.
She added that the structure would have representatives from the civil societies, private sector, international donors, and both the state and federal government.
Apart from the World Bank, AfDB and the UK partners, the minister explained that the Norwegian government had also pledged its support for the project.
“There are number of measures that Gordon Brown and others have put in place to provide incentives for children to go to school.
“Our private sector is donating $10m which is hinged on the government coming up immediately with a matching fund and as of yesterday the president has approved that sum and we are opening a trust fund to deposit those money by Friday and so that money would be lodged there.”
The minister noted that already, the Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation Dr Bright Okogu, and the Accountant General of the Federation Mr. Jonah Otunla, have started working on how the funds would be transferred to the special trust fund.
She believed and stated that activities of terrorists do not have significant negative impact on the Nigeria economy as investors are still showing huge interests in key sectors of the economy.
The fund which was set up during the World Economic Forum on May 8 with an initial amount of $10m will now have a total balance of $20m (N3.2bn).
