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Tag: BoI

  • FG warns volunteers against selling N-Power devices

    FG warns volunteers against selling N-Power devices

    The Federal Government on Thursday warned that N-Power volunteers caught or implicated in the sale of the programme’s tablets would be dismissed.

    The Presidential Aide on Job Creation and Youth Empowerment, Mr Afolabi Imoukhuede, gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

    “Information reaching us is that some of our N-Power Volunteers are attempting to dispose their device, we urge you in your best interest not to do so.

    “Once caught, you would not only be dismissed from the programme, you would be blacklisted from other federal government’s social Investment Programmes.

    “A lien would also be placed on your bank accounts for the full refund of the asset cost to the Bank of Industry,’’ he said.

    Imoukhuede recalled that N-Power is a Learn/Work/Entrepreneurship Programme of the federal government’s National Social Investment Programme for unemployed Young Graduates.

    He reminded the beneficiaries that the devices currently being distributed to the volunteers were secured through an Asset Finance arrangement.

    He said the arrangement was made with the Bank of Industry (BOI) for 20 months by the National Social Investment Programme.

    “As such, the devices are to aid the continual learning and development of our volunteers, which seek to enhance their employability ready for the labour market when they exit the programme after 24 months.

    “These devices are also their work tools as it would aid the discharge of their community functions in their primary places of assignment be it at the Public Schools, Primary Health Centres or the Agriculture Development Farm Settlements.

    “In addition, these devices contain global knowledge content contributed by some of our global partners such as Cisco, Google, Microsoft on ICT, Leadership and Entrepreneurship for their continuous development,’’ he said.

    The Presidential Aide warned volunteers that the employment office had devised means to gather such information and data concerning sold or unutilized devices.

    NAN reports that the federal government took over the remittances of the total cost of the devices to the asset finance partner, besides the N30,000 monthly stipends to no fewer than 200,000 volunteers.

  • SMEs are too large for BoI only

    SMEs are too large for BoI only

    Association of Small Business owners Association of Nigeria, ASBON, President Femi Egbesola, speaks with Bukola Aroloye on the unrecovered loans and the not-so-smooth relationship between BoI and SME operators.

    he House Committee on public account alleged that the BoI has some unrecovered loans of about N11billion. Could you tell us the beneficiaries of such loans and what efforts you are making at recovering them?

    I think the Bank of Industry is under the CBN, and it has the way of retrieving funds. You remember, sometimes when money is in the public and CBN was getting it back, those that were with the money were published and they responded positively. Some had their loans restructured. Those that were bad, I mean totally bad, were taken over by AMCON; they were able to save the bank from collapsing. I feel that the Bank of Industry needs to go through some ways or probably follow that kind of policy or something similar. The other side to it is that in this part of the world, if you give out loan it should be monitored. Some of us keep clamouring that if a bank like the Bank of Industry, which is supposed to give us intervention fund to SMEs to involve the stakeholder like us, for example, and if you are one of the SMEs that need a loan and you are told that before you will get the loan you need a letter from an association, it means that the association is also part of the recovering team. An average Nigerian might see it as national cake and because we have not seen people in Nigeria go to jail cause of credit, we see it as nothing will happen and actually nothing is happening. Another angle to it is that our culture system is not helping. When you see people in the government stealing billions of naira, all we do at the end of the day is that ‘return the money back to government’, and nothing happen to them. It’s a very wrong way of bringing our younger generation up who will also believe that  everything can come cheap without paying for it. That is not good enough.

     What is the relationship between SME operators and BoI?

    The understanding between them is not smooth enough. If we change the method, we will get a changed result. We have not been carried along well enough. We are in a system where people pay because they are forced to pay.  It’s not supposed to be, but that’s what we have here. The reason why micro finance are surviving now is because they ask loan seekers to bring relatives and form a group among their staff. Each group will know the resident and area of business of each loanee; this makes everybody responsible for each other. By this, the money will come back.

     What advice do you have for government?

    My advice is that first of all they should go and get a blue print that will work for Nigeria and SME. Commercial banks are not expected to work the way BOI or any other development bank operates. And the only way they can have that is if they relate with every other stake holder. If you want to be with the market women, you have to go to the market to know the weaknesses, strengths and abilities of the market women. If you just sit in the office and your loan is out there, there will be failure on delivery. If we look for a blue print that is different from what we have now and peculiar to our environment and our culture, also have an office that will monitor by calling the clients frequently.

     Can’t the BoI and development bank be merged?

    If we have as many banks as we like, with whatever name, it’s better. I think in any environment that there is no competition, it will not bring out the best. Competition brings out their best; if we have competition between development banks they will buckle up. SME is too large for the Bank of Industry; we need many of these banks to boost the goals of the SMEs. If we have just one Bank of Industry there will be no progress.

  • Where is BoI’s N11 billion loan?

    Where is BoI’s N11 billion loan?

    It was founded to help businesses grow. But many of them  took loans from the Bank of Industry (BoI) without paying back. This has led to an investigation by the House of Representatives Public Account Committee, write Bukola Aroloye and Dele Anofi.

    The Managing Director of Bank of Industry (BoI), Mr. Olukayode Pitan, is by nature a quiet and self-effacing man. But this seems to have changed. Owing to the quantum of investment portfolio and money his organisation, sits on, Pitan, in just about three months after assuming office has found out how hot his seat can be.

    Last month  he was a guest at the House of Representatives Public Account Committee hearing of the  N11 billion unrecovered loans allegations against the BoI. The Committee is headed by Kingsley Chida. In inviting the BoI chief, the committee noted that the inability to recover such humongous loan is capable of defeating the objectives of boosting the economy through the active participation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

    The queries at the hearing came in torrents. From the 2015 Auditor General’s queries on the recovery of N8billion to the N2.7 billion domiciled with BoI for disbursement since 2012 under the YouWin initiative. These monies, the PAC believes, are capable of sending the government’s financial institution into distress.

    Pitan, however, spiritedly defended the bank, explaining steps that have been taken to recover the loans. For instance, on the recovery of an N8 billion credit facility, he explained that the BoI, in complying with the directives of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), commenced recovery efforts immediately; including publishing the names of the debtor companies in three newspapers.

    “In addition, we embarked on the second option and we have recovered some money, some of the companies were reported to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for recovery. We have also taken possession of the property of some of them and they are on the verge of being sold,” the BoI boss explained, adding that some of the debtors have taken financial institution to court, including some firms he perceives as having no case but who opted to subject the recovery to litigation.

    Still, the N2.7billion YouWin fund domiciled with BoI for disbursement was another issue he had to defend. Pitan’s revelation on this, however, raised some curiosity. Since 2012, the BoI boss said, the bank has only been able to access N870million out of the N2.7 billion. Of the accessed money, he further revealed that N129million was returned to the treasury through the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in 2015.

    “We could only access N780million from the fund and we returned N129million to the treasury through the TSA with the interest of over N2billion.  Ours was to disburse the funds to the beneficiaries in accordance with the list from the Ministry of Finance. The fund is not BoI’s,” he told the lawmakers.

    The BoI helmsman was, however, silent on the exact figures recovered so far, as well as the names of the companies that had taken the bank to court as he explained that he has to check his records for the figure.

    By and large, Pitan believes that the situation is not enough to put the bank in any precarious situation. “The bank is not under stress. This debt does not in any way threaten our business. We are rated and in a healthy position, this cannot affect us,” he assured the PAC members.

     

    SMEs operators’ position

    For operators in the SME sector, Pitan’s claim of disbursement of such money does not hold. The Chairman of Nigeria Association of Small Scale Industrialists, Lagos State Chapter, Kuti George, challenged the bank to make public the list of beneficiaries of such loans. He explained that as a body, his members do not really concern themselves with the credit facility, considering that it has a robust financing system within itself.

    “I don’t know of any loan given out; we don’t really bother our self on this because we operate a very vibrant cooperative system that even gives money to our members without tears based on personal guarantee of people and we even give loans among ourselves,” George explained.

    The Chairman of Toiletries and Cosmetics Manufacturers’ group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. Ikpong Umoh, corroborated George’s view on the matter. He disclosed that the BoI does not meet the needs of SMEs, as it gives loans with high interest rate of 25 percent or more to SMEs.

    “BoI claims to directly help SMEs but the fact is that BoI does not share and under-write the risk of SMEs. For example, BoI gives loan for machineries and expansion and not for start-ups of new industries,” he explained.

    George explained that if government truly wants to grow the industrial base, then it should not be scared of risk taking.  “We should be prepared to take risk instead of giving loans to people who are ready to payback. Instead, he said, such loans end up in the pocket of people who will not come back.

    Beneficiaries of BOI loans 

    However, some stakeholders disagree with the submissions of some SMEs operators. One of such is the national programme coordinator of Rural Finance Institution (RUFIN), Olumuyiwa Azeez. For him, the activities of the BoI’s partnership with RUFIN is geared towards stimulating a seamless process by reaching beneficiaries in rural areas across the federation and including them in Nigeria’s financial landscape. This is aptly supported by the BoI.

    Azeez said the institution is proud that its track record has earned it an opportunity to be a channel for reaching out to thousands of micro entrepreneurs who do not have an opportunity of accessing funds to boost their businesses.

    Yet, others say that the impact of the BoI reverberates across the business landscape of the country. For instance, the BoI, through its Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund (GEF) programme targeted at members of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC), has recorded over N262.9 million disbursements to 177 successful candidates. The loans granted under this scheme have since become interest-free from last May. However, beneficiaries of loans preceding May 2017, will be required to pay loan interests that accrued up to 30th April, 2017. As at March 31, 2017, BoI had approved N583.8 million for disbursements to entrepreneurs under the scheme.

    And the BoI is delighted in this. “The Bank of Industry is highly delighted in the outcome of its investment in these young Nigerians. The bank firmly believes that entrepreneurship is a critical pathway to resolving the worrisome unemployment problem in the country. Hence, the bank desires to ensure the businesses that have been created through the GEF programme remain sustainable with progressive migration from small businesses to medium and eventually to large enterprises,” a statement by the bank read.

    Still, the BoI recently unveiled an interest-free loan for women artisans, market women and small holder farmers in the country. The scheme comes under the National Women Empowerment Fund (NAWEF) of the federal government. NAWEF is an aspect of the federal government’s Social Investment (Intervention) programme designed for women and administered by BoI to issue interest-free loans to successful applicants.

    The minister for women affairs and social development, Aisha Jummai Alhassan, listed eight states of Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, Osun, Abia, Nasarawa and Jigawa have been selected for the pilot phase where women can access N200 million in loans, starting from N10,000 to N100,000.

    BoI’s Senior Manager, Micro enterprises, Aisha Abdullahi, explained that her organisation also has a scheme, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), which is exactly like NAWEF, adding that the latter is only for women, unlike GEEP where both men and women can benefit from it.

    “The reason for this difference is to ensure that more women have access to interventions in order not to be crowded out by men. GEEP has already started and the verification process is like that of NAWEF,” she added.

  • Fed Govt, BoI launch N5b fund for artisanal, small scale miners

    Fed Govt, BoI launch N5b fund for artisanal, small scale miners

    The  Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has signed a Memorandum of Understanding  (MoU) with the Bank of Industry (BoI) for the management of a N5 billion fund in support  of artisanal and small scale miners in the country.

    Under the arrangement, the Ministry would contribute N2.5billion which would be matched by another N2.5 billion by BoI.

    A certified artisanal scale miner, under the scheme, can access between N100,000 and N10million; while a small scale miner can access between N10million and N100million.

    The MoU was signed by the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi and the Managing Director/CEO of BoI, Mr Olukayode Pitan, in Abuja yesterday.

    The event was witnessed by the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Hon Abubakar Bawa Bwari, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mohammed Abass and Chair of the board of the Solid Minerals Development Fund, Alhaji Uba Saida Malami.

    Speaking at the event, Fayemi said the development is aimed at addressing the issue of insufficient funding and access to capital, which is a major factor militating against artisanal and small scale miners who account for about 80 per cent of activities in the mining sector.

    According to him, the BoI would serve as the custodian and manager of the fund, which would be given to the artisanal and small scale miners at five per cent interest.

    Fayemi said: “This agreement is a meeting of minds between the FMMSD and the BoI. We are in the first instance launching a N5billion fund. With our ministry’s pilot contribution of N2.5billion, BoI will match our contribution with another N2.5billion.

    “Consequently, with this agreement, the FMMSD appoints BoI as the custodian and manager of the Nigerian Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners (ASM) Financing Support Fund, for the purpose of financing artisanal and small scale mining projects involving industrial minerals, precious stones, precious metal (gold), dimension stone and such other strategic minerals in Nigeria as shall be approved by the ministry and BoI from time to time.”

    Fayemi said the fund would be available in the form of term loans or working capital to be utilised for the purchase of requisite items of plant and machinery; payment for drilling, geological and other services related to mining business as may be required, among others.

    He added that proper funding would help to integrate the artisanal and small-scale miners into the formal sector, enhance their growth and development in a structured manner, and spur productivity and job creation in the mining sector.

    Speaking further, Fayemi said: “The single obligor limit of loans to be granted under the Fund shall be from N100,000.00 to N10,000,000.00 for artisanal scale miners; and from N10,000,000.00 to N100,000,000.00 for small scale miners.

    “The loans would be made available to certified industry participants at a single digit interest rate of five per cent per annum, which is by far about the most attractive within our jurisdiction.

    “In addressing the challenge of insufficient funding and lack of access to capital, the ministry secured approval for N30billion (about $100million) from the mining sector component of the Natural Resources Development Fund from the Federal Government. We also secured the World Bank’s approval for $150 million to support the ministry’s Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification (MinDiver) programme.

    “The Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) is now spearheading the assembling of a $600million investment fund for the sector, working with entities such as the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, the Nigeria Stock Exchange and others. This is a departure from the past, judging by the fact that in 2015, out of the meagre N1 billion allocated to the ministry, only N352 million was released.

    “It is noteworthy that in addition to funding support from multilateral agencies, partnerships on technical cooperation have also been brokered or re-activated with several foreign governments. Existing technical partnerships have been operationalised with the governments of South Africa, China, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Nigeria now takes the lead in regional efforts to develop mining, especially within the framework of the Africa Mining Vision.”

    Mr Pitan in his response said the bank was convinced that the fund would step up a rapid development in the mining sector, just as a similar funding arrangement administered by the BoI boosted the country’s movie sector.

    He said BoI is a pioneer in the area of funding mining activities where other banks are reluctant to invest. He, however  stated that the Fund is not an aid, but repayable by beneficiaries.

    The Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Hon Abubakar Bawa Bwari, would head the Project Management Committee which includes BoI officials with expertise in Mining Finance and Project Supervision. The committee is charged with the responsibility of  appraising, recommending, disbursing, implementing and monitoring the projects as well as recovering the loans and interests from the approved projects.

     

  • BoI chief happy on Content Fund’s upgrade to $200m

    BoI chief happy on Content Fund’s upgrade to $200m

    The Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BoI), Olukayode Pitan, has commended the upgrade of Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund) for players in the oil and gas industry from $100 million to $200 million.

    Pitan said the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has increased the funds lent to qualified oil and gas players under the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund) from $100 million to $200 million. This is to ensure that more companies including the nine oil producing companies benefit from this loan, he added.

    He spoke during the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abuja, assuring that the fund will be used judiciously.

    “The loans disbursed by BoI are single digit interest, and the bank intends to sensitise the people on how to access this loan through regular workshop. Loans given out will not exceed $10million with interest rate of eight per cent. BoI has presence in 21 states of the federation and is well positioned to support the Board achieve its objectives in effective loans disbursement and management for the oil and gas industry.

    “BoI will work with NCDMB to source additional pool of funds for this vital sector of the economy. The NCI Fund is sourced from the statutory NCDF, which is funded from one per cent that is deducted from the value of all upstream contracts. The NCDF is underpinned by Section 104 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, which provides that the funds be used for developing capacity in the oil and gas industry.

    “Subsection 3 of Section 104 also provides that “the fund shall be managed by the Nigerian Content Development Board and employed for projects, programmes and activities directed at increasing Nigerian Content in the oil and gas industry.”

    The Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Simbi Wabote, said community contractors in the oil and gas industry will only pay five percent interest rate when they access the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund), adding that such contractors execute small scale projects and would not pay the same interest rate like conventional oil and gas service companies.

    The concession for community contractors is in line with the Board’s Community Content Guideline and provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act. The intent is to promote the participation of genuine community contractors in oil and gas projects and integration of communities in the industry value chain as part of the strategy to grow the local economy and promote peace and tranquility in the communities, he added.

     

  • BoI, FCMB partner to support local content policy

    The Bank of Industry (BoI), in partnership with the First City Monument Bank, have unveiled an 80-tonne vessel jointly financed on behalf of C&I Leasing Ltd. Managing Director, BOI, Kayode Pitan, said at the inauguration of the vessel tagged: “MV Bello’’ in Lagos, that the joint financing demonstrated their supports for deepening the country’s local content policy.

    Pitan, who was represented by General Manager, Large Enterprises, BoI, Mr Joseph Babatunde, said that the financing was to generate employment and grow the country’s economy.

    “The vessel is the first vessel supported by BoI. The aim is not to leave the oil and gas industry to all comers; we need more indigenous companies to be able to take our destiny in our hands.

    “For us at BoI, we like ventures that will create employment and add value to the economy of the country.

    “We will do more to support many industries that need long term financing.

    “The loan will be paid over a period of six to nine years with reasonable moratorium period that allows the company to stabilise and take the benefits to expand its operations,” he said.

    Pitan said that financing of the vessel had created 220 jobs and would gradually attract all other services rendered in the value chain.

    “Today, BoI is also signing a MoU of $200m local content development fund in Abuja for the oil and gas sector; I see a bright future for the industry,” he said.

    Also, the Managing Director, FCMB, Mr. Adam Nunu, said that the bank would continue to provide solutions and financial support to different sectors of the economy.

    “We have demonstrated how local players can help to support the larger marine industry which is hugely dominated by foreign companies,” Nunu said.

  • Why we’re bothered about piracy, by BoI

    Why we’re bothered about piracy, by BoI

    •As Task Force arrests pirates, confiscate goods

    There have been worries by right owners and the regulatory agencies,  about unauthorized replication of films and musical works but not as much as the reality that hit stakeholders, seeing the heap of pirated Nollywood DVD titles packed-ready for export to different countries.

    This was the situation, as exhibits said to be worth over N50 million, and confiscated from film pirates at Alaba International Market, Lagos, were displayed for all to see, at the Lagos office of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) on Monday.

    Industry players from banking, cinema, and marketing sectors joined actors and filmmakers whose works were illegally replicated to condemn the dastardly act, while lauding the raid by the NFVCB and members of the Film and Video Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria (FVPMAN) which took place between August 12 – 15, 2017, leading to the arrest of four suspects – Ndu Celestine, Okechukwu Ikuagwu, Austine Ugokwe and one Mayor who have since been taken to Abuja for questioning.

    Executive Director of the NFVCB, Mr. Adedayo Thomas, while addressing newsmen at the event, said the raid was the first in the series of the operation done by the Board’s special Task Force and security agencies against unauthorized distributors, as well as uncensored and unclassified works.

    He said: “Between August 12 and 15, the National Task Force waged war against producers of unapproved and unclassified works. We enforced a raid on the distributors of unclassified films operating without the prerequisite licence. It was a successful activity and we appreciate the support of the Minister of Information, Tourism and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and other stakeholders in the industry. I am delighted that with the arrest made so far, we have sent a strong signal to perpetrators who commit economic crime against the industry.”

    Some of the confiscated titles include ‘Ayamma’, and ‘Three Wise Men’, produced with support from the Bank of Industry’s (BoI) NollyFund, a loan scheme which some beneficiaries are yet to redeem.

    Speaking on how piracy has affected the scheme, Mr. Okechukwu Madu, Assistant Manager (CI), BoI, said although the NollyFund structure did not take into consideration, revenue streams from DVD distribution, pirating NollyFund films has some level of psychological challenge for the management of the bank.

    “Pirating NollyFund films has some level of psychological challenges for the management of our bank. Even though it wasn’t in the original financial projections, but then, it would be a reference point when it comes to approving new projects and making funds available for film producers. Meanwhile, the piracy of course also disturbs the producers psychologically no matter how much they have made from their film in the cinema; DVD is another vital source of income which can solve some forms of financial challenge for the filmmakers.”

    He said the bank would continue to support any drive that would enhance the commercial viability of the films in the market, “and in doing so, we would also ensure that going forward, producers give us measures that they put in place to minimize the impact of piracy, not just in terms of their cash flow but also to the society.”

    On why BoI is so concerned about the effect of piracy, even though the filmmakers are bound to payback their loans, whether or not they run at a loss, Madu said, “The bank is a DFI (Development Finance Institution), and being a DFI, we are the first among equals. We want to pave the way for commercial banks to see the prospects in this industry, and to pave the way for commercial banks and other funders would mean that we have a safe market in terms of RoI (Return on Investment). The bank is bothered because messages that seems like the industry is not well regulated have the potential of making the banks to scale back on its financial intervention. It also has a potential of making commercial banks to be hesitant in giving money for film production. We have also seen the contribution of the sector to the national GDP, as rebased. What that means is that with more financial interventions this sector can do more. So, we are concerned about the market not being unruly, knowing the implication for the wider financial sector.”

    Actress and film producer, Funke Akindele-Bello, who was at the event also lamented the extent to which her series, ‘Jenifa’s Diary’, was pirated, disclosing that there are loads of original copies in her office that her marketers have not been able to sell.

    The comic thespian thanked the Executive Director of NFVCB for taking the bold step against piracy, saying; “We support all initiative to stop pirates from killing the industry. It is sad when you see your job being pirated and at the end of the day you get nothing out of it.”

    Managing Director of Filmhouse/FilmOne Distribution, Mr. Kene Mkparu who was among the stakeholders at the event, when asked if it does bother cinema owners that some of these titles being pirated have only been released in the cinemas, answered in the affirmative.

    He however assured that cinema houses in Nigeria are 90 percent safe, as measures have been put in place to curtail illegal recording in cinema theatres.

    “Piracy is a syndicated crime and a whole chain of people are involved in it. It could be anyone from the editing studios down the chain to the consumers. So, what we are looking at is that from production to post production, editing studio to the cinemas and the people that handle the distribution, up to film festivals level etcetera, there needs to be mechanisms in place to checkmate any possible loophole… For instance, a whole bunch of our cinemas actually have infrared goggles. Thus, curtailing the old way of bringing out cameras to record film from the screen illegally – we have goggles that can detect such and a whole bunch of things,” he said.

    Other stakeholders at the event include Executive Secretary of Lagos State Film and Video Censors Board, Mr. Dele Balogun; Chairman, Yoruba Video Film Producers/Marketers Association of Nigeria (YOVIFPMAN), Alhaji Adbulrasaq Abdullahi; Chairman, Film and Video Producers/Marketers Association of Nigeria (FVPMAN), Emeka Aduah; President, Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN) Fred Amata; Filmmaker, Chief Eddie Ugbomah; film marketer Gabriel Okoye, aka Igwe Gabosky;  film marketer/Producer Yinka Ogundaisi, and actor Saint Obi.

  • Reps give ultimatum to BoI chief over N11b loan

    Reps give ultimatum to BoI chief over N11b loan

    The House of Representatives has given the Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BoI), Olukayode Pitan 24 hours to appear before it.

    He has up to 11am today to appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House over N11billion the bank has been unable to recover.

    In his place at the PAC meeting yesterday, was the bank’s Chief Financial Officer, Taiwo Kolawole, who said Pitan had to be at another previously scheduled meeting in Enugu.

    This angered the Kingsley Chinda-led  Committee that sent a reminder of its earlier invitation to Pitan on July 28, saying the MD’s attitude to the House was denigrating,

    Chinda said: “Over N8billion loan given out have not been recovered and the bank is not doing anything about it according to the query. The second query is on another N2billion unexplained expenditure.

    “Considering the enormity of the sum involved, over N11billion as contained in the query by the AuGF, and considering the fact that the MD has given more importance to a meeting with Enugu State government.

    “We are tempted to take action as appropriate but in the spirit of fair hearing, we want to give him another opportunity so that he can appear before us tomorrow,  Aug 18, 2017 by 11 am, failure of which we will order for his arrest.”

     

  • Industrial growth: Kwara seeks BoI’s support

    The Kwara State Government has solicited increased technical and financial partnership with the Bank of Industry (BoI) to sustain entrepreneurship development in the state.

    Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed explained that though a scheme designed to drive entrepreneurship development had already been established, partnering BoI would help up-scale the initiative to achieve economic growth for the state.

    He spoke during a visit by BoI’s Managing Director Olukayode Pitan.

    Ahmed said the state had established an Export Processing Zone (EPZ) for most of its agricultural commodities, saying the bank’s technical and financial support were key to driving the EPZ.

    “No doubt, we are aware of the various supports you have given to entrepreneurship development in Kwara, which had also triggered a lot of multiplier effects in other sectors in the state.

    “We already have a scheme to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), but we will be delighted to see a kind of partnership where the Kwara State Government and BoI would merge our own initiative with theirs to achieve a mutual benefit for all,” Ahmed said.

    Reaffirming his administration’s commitment to BoI’s operations in the state, Ahmed said a lot of small businesses in the state would have closed shops if not for BoI’s prompt intervention programmes.

    “Our arms are wide open to receive you and we will take off from where we stopped, because we believe partnerships such as this is critical to drive SMEs and industrial development,” he noted.

    Earlier, the Managing Director commended the Governor for his tireless efforts aimed at boosting SME development, pointing out that the bank had so far disbursed over N9 billion to support small businesses in the state.

    “We are here to solicit your partnership in respect of the N2 billion matching fund. We believe this initiative should be expanded to support more businesses and youths to be gainfully employed. This is the only way we can address the high unemployment rates in this country,” Pitan said.

    In another development, the BoI Managing Director, in a guided facility tour, paid courtesy visits to three factories who are also beneficiaries of the bank’s intervention funds aimed at driving industrial development.

    “Industrialising Nigeria is the surest way to go to achieve rapid economic growth and development. We will continue to support viable businesses to grow because of the multiplier effects they have on the economy at large,” he said.

  • BoI, Ebonyi govt seal N4b deal to fast-track industrialisation

    TO fast-track industrialisation through entrepreneurship and create jobs, the Bank of Industry (BoI) and the Ebonyi State Government have signed a N4 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote agriculture and establish industries in the state.

    The signing, which took place at the Ebonyi State Government House, in Abakaliki on Monday, will usher in economic boom for the state, which targets to set up at least one industry in each of its 150 communities under the dispensation of the N4 billion Fund.

    Governor Dave Umahi praised BoI for supporting the state’s economic growth initiative with 50 per cent of the Fund. He stressed that the bank was, indeed, not out to make money, but to foster development.

    The governor added that empowerment programmes have been proven to be more impacting when anchored with BoI, which has competent personnel and an effective coordinating strategy.

    He said: “Free money is not productive when it is not worked for, and the way to go about empowerment is what we have done today with the BoI, which has made tremendous impact in recent times.

    If this is enacted across the 36 states of Nigeria, it will lead to job creation on a massive scale.” The governor added that the initiative was Nigeria’s solution to the economic recession currently plaguing the country following the crash of global oil prices.Governor Umahi explained that N2billion under the initiative will be dedicated to the agric sector, while the other N2billion will go to the industrial sector.

    He said beneficiaries of short-term loans will be charged five per cent, while long-term beneficiaries will pay back with a 6.25 per cent.Umahi charged his cabinet members to drive awareness of the intervention fund across their constituencies and encourage would-be beneficiaries to set up cooperative societies to enable them access the fund and attend entrepreneurship capacity building workshops to be hosted by BoI.

    Earlier in his remarks, the Managing Director of BoI, Mr. Kayode Pitan, noted that the bank has been involved in supporting entrepreneurs in the growth of large and small scale industries in the state before now in excess of N2billion.”With this, we will now be able to help more people to get employed as well as enhance the growth of the solid minerals sector as the governor has also requested,” he said.

    He added that the development finance institution was ready to finance more projects beyond the scope of the MoU.”We are partners with the state and are happy that this MoU has further strengthened that partnership,” he said.Some of the projects financed by BoI include Ebony Agro Industries, Crystal Chemical Nigeria Limited, Hapelroadstone Nigeria Limited as well as Maxdove Foam and Chemical Industries Limited.