Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has approved the immediate release of the first tranche of N200 million as counterpart funds for the takeoff of Rural Access and Agricultural Market Project (RAAMP III).
Funded by the World Bank, French Development Agency and other donor agencies, RAAMP is a $60m programme involving at least 13 Nigerian states, according to a statement yesterday by AbdulRazaq’s chief press secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye.
The statement said each participating state is to pay eight per cent of the $60m to fund preliminary activities of the project such as consultancy fee, environmental and social management framework (ESMF) and resettlement policy framework (RPF), among other things, as preconditions for accessing the funds.
“The approval of the first tranche of N200m fulfils the first condition for Kwara State to access this fund. Once approved in September, this will lead to rehabilitation of rural roads totalling 600 kilometres across the 16 local government areas of Kwara State.
“This action again proved the governor’s oft-stated commitment to open up Kwara for industrialisation, especially in the area of agricultural value chain. Such roads are meant to facilitate access to market by farmers and traders alike,” the statement added.
The statement said RAAMP was meant to have kicked off in Kwara in 2017, but the state did not pay the counterpart funds.
“From paying the debt owed to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), counterpart funds for nutrition and good health care for women and children and now RAAMP, the governor is simply telling the world that Kwara is ready for investments and all-round development,” it added.