The Benue government on Wednesday approved a partial re-opening of schools in compliance with recommendations of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.
Briefing newsmen after the State Executive Council meeting, the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mrs Ngunan Addingi, said that the schools would be re-opened for primary six pupils and students in JSS 3 and SSS3.
She said that the Action Committee on COVID-19 would further meet with the Ministry of Education to work out modalities on protocols to be observed and fix a date for the re-opening of the schools.
Addingi further said that the council also approved a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement for the management of the Makurdi Modern Market.
The information commissioner said that due diligence would be carried out to identify interested persons in the PPP arrangement and those with the requisite capacities for engagement.
She said that the council also approved a request for the 2019 and 2020 International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-Assisted Rice and Cassava Value Chain Development Programme.
According to her, the Benue government will pay its counterpart funding for the programme so that farmers in the state, especially in the six local government areas where IFAD is intervening, can access funding for rice and cassava farming. (NAN)