Anambra state government will soon introduce an economic stimulus package to help cushion the economic effects of the Coronavirus pandemic on Ndi Anambra.
Mr. Mark Okoye, Anambra State Commissioner for Economic Planning, Budget and Development Partners said this while responding to questions on the state government’s preparedness to weather the economic storm arising from the coronavirus pandemic ravaging many countries across the globe.
According to Mr Okoye, “This is already being worked on. So far, fortunately and unfortunately, Lagos is the worst hit during this pandemic, that has strategically positioned them from a funding stand point. 10BN grant from the federal government, banks and oil companies building makeshift hospitals, etc”.
Continuing, he said that, “Nigeria is being hit harder than most countries given the nation’s reliance on one export product. So not only are we dealing with a public heath emergency, revenue is likely to drop by 45%. This sets up a pretty interesting situation for all”.
“Governor Willie Obiano is not relenting in spite of the challenging fiscal environment. He currently chairs the COVID-19 response committee tackling the pandemic in the state and has demanded a draft emergency multi -faceted economic stimulus package for Ndi Anambra for his review. The economic team is currently working tirelessly on this. The key objective will be to ameliorate the impact of the loss in economic activity on the state and its people, especially the poor and vulnerable”.
It will be recalled that Governor Obiano had also introduced similar measures to cushion the impact on the citizens of the global recession that occurred in 2016/2017.