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  • Types of Same Day Loans

    Types of Same Day Loans

    Money can help you grow and handle challenges in today’s fast-paced world. Same day loans are facilities that are processed with speed and flexibility. This article will look at these loans, their benefits, types, the applications process, and how to choose the right one.

    What is a Same Day Loan? 

    Convenience stands out as a significant perk of same day loans. A same day loan means you get the money you’re borrowing approved on the same day. They often cost more in interest than other borrowing options.

    Whether you need the loan for personal reasons, or for payday delays or other types of pressing financial needs , your credit score isn’t a big concern. Even with a low score, you’re eligible. Same day loans are a lifeline for those needing cash in emergencies for example. Through online applications, money can land in your account within hours, and you can even get same day loans with no credit check. These guaranteed personal loans act as a relief for many who may experience unexpected situations that they need money to deal with quickly.

    How do Same Day Loans Work?

    You can begin by applying for a same day loan through a lender in person, online, or through a mobile app. The application process is streamlined to save time. Lenders check your application and determine whether you meet their eligibility criteria. 

    If your application is approved, the lender moves to process it. This involves verifying your information and assessing your creditworthiness. Once your application is processed and approved, the lender offers you a loan. This offer contains the loan amount, interest rate, repayment terms, and any fees charged.

    If you’re content with the loan offer, you can confirm by providing your electronic signature or required documents. After accepting, the funds will be transferred to your bank account on the same day. This quick funding process is the main characteristic of same day loans.

    The repayment of the borrowed amount depends on the type of loan and the plan that is agreed on. This could mean making a single lump-sum payment or paying in smaller instalments over a period of time.

    Types of Same Day Loans

    Payday, title, and pawnshop loans are short-term borrowing solutions that qualify as same day loans. These types of loans cater to individuals who require immediate financial help but may have limited access to traditional lending avenues due to credit constraints or time-sensitive circumstances.

    Payday Loans

    Payday loans are meant to cover small, immediate expenses until your next paycheck arrives. People usually take payday loans two weeks before their next paycheck. These’re generally unsecured, meaning no collateral is needed, and they’re often accessible to individuals with low credit scores.

    Borrowers provide a post-dated check or authorise an electronic debit from their bank account for the amount plus fees. The lender cashes the check or debits the borrower’s account on the due date to collect the repayment. Payday loans often have high-interest rates and fees, making them expensive if not paid back on time.

    Title Loans

    Title loans require borrowers to use the title of their vehicle as security. These are typically short-term and may offer higher amounts than they give you. If the borrower isn’t able to repay, the lender can sell the vehicle to recover the debt.

    To secure a title loan, borrowers provide the lender with their vehicle’s title in exchange for the loan. However, these loans usually have high interest rates. While title loans might offer a solution during emergencies, it’s essential to recognise the substantial risks involved, which is the potential loss of your car.

    Pawn Shop Loans

    Pawn shop loans involve pawning a valuable item as collateral for a loan. The borrower gets a loan based on the value of an item, and the pawn shop keeps the item until the loan is paid back.

    Borrowers bring valuable items to the pawn shop. The shop evaluates the item and offers a loan based on that assessment. The borrower receives the loan and a pawn ticket with terms. The borrower must repay the loan plus interest within a set time to get the item back. If they are not able to repay, the pawn shop keeps the item and could sell it.

    Are Same Day Loans Safe?

    We’ve highlighted some key points regarding the risks of taking a same day loan. Generally, the risk of same day loans is greatly influenced by responsible borrowing practices. So, minimise the risks, you should consider the following:

    Affordability: Responsible borrowing involves assessing whether the loan is affordable based on your income and present financial commitments. Borrowers must ensure they can manage the loan without causing themselves financial strain.

    Emergency Use: Same day loans are generally considered safe for emergencies, like unexpected car repairs or medical expenses that cannot wait until the next payday.

    Avoiding Debt Cycles: Borrowers should use loans wisely to avoid falling into a cycle of debt. This means borrowing only when necessary and repaying the loan promptly.

    Conclusion

    Same day loans cater to individuals who need immediate financial help but may have limited access to traditional lending avenues due to credit constraints or time-sensitive circumstances. While they offer expedited access to funds, they also come with distinct features and risks that individuals should understand to make informed borrowing decisions.

  • CBN empowers 12m farmers with N55b loans

    CBN empowers 12m farmers with N55b loans

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has so far spent N55 billion on the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), a top official said yesterday.

    Under a new arrangement for the programme, CBN credit facility to farmers would be digitalised, Special Assistant to the CBN governor Mr. Tunde Akande told the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) in Abuja.

    Following a drop in demand for foreign exchange to import rice and other foods now produced locally, the foreign reserve has hit $42.8billion, he said, adding that the CBN was partnering with RIFAN to empower 12.2 million farmers under the fully digitalised second phase of the ABP.

    Of the N55 billion provided by CBN to farmers under the ABP, 80% representing N44 billion was given to rice farmers alone. The ABP, which entered its second phase yesterday, will now be a collaboration between private sector (small holder farmers) and the CBN.

    To guarantee the ABP’s success, CBN said it would partner with other commodity associations as well as staple food farmers to provide employment, reduce food import, boost export and earn foreign exchange.

    According to Akande, the partnership with RIFAN would help digitalise loan processes for smallholder farmers.

    He said the bank estimated that an additional two million tonnes of rice would be added into national rice production using digitalised mechanism which would be made available to RIFAN members.

    The collaboration with smallholder farmers and the digitalisation of the ABP, he said, would help in monitoring farmers closely by ensuring they get inputs, extension services and other incentives needed to achieve bumper harvests.

    The government and CBN, he said, had decided to collaborate with RIFAN because “they have structures at all levels. We want to provide mentoring, extension services, etc to farmers through them. We can now provide tractorisation and all that.”

    “It’s about the loan being well utilised. There is a guaranteed market for farmers under this programmme. We have deployed seamless technologies to them. We have taken their biometrics and we have their contacts. Days of taking loans and inputs without accounting for them are over. In no distant time, we will attain food sufficiency and even export to earn foreign exchange”, he said.

    Akande said all loans given to farmers under the ABP were mandatorily insured by the Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC).

    Each smallholder farmer gets N250,000 to cultivate one hectare of land for dry season farming and in multiples of land size.

    RIFAN president Alhaji Aminu Goronyo  said the new initiative would be private sector-driven unlike in the past when CBN and the states.

    He said under the ABP partnership between the CBN and RIFAN, 200,000 farmers would be given fresh funds to plant rice in dry farming season and another 500,000 farmers during wet farming season.

    Through the funding, Goronyo said, the farmers would employ a total of five million people to work on the rice production value chain during the period.

    “This collaboration is to put Nigeria on the right track in agribusiness. Before 2015, it was operating on an analogue model, thus making monitoring and compliance very challenging. So, all that was done in agriculture was not properly recorded. But with this, we have 500,000 farmers under this season’s farming. From this figure, we have 200,000 farmers for the dry season,” he said.

    Goronyo added: “With this new digitalised programme, I can, from my phone, reach all the farmers. It’s a global innovation. Farmers are now accessible, verifiable and the entire process reliable. Anyone coming to do business with us can access us and work with reliable data”.

    He said RIFAN had national working committees and six zonal offices and heads at both local government and ward levels.

    The RIFAN chief said 32 states were currently onboard the ABP, noting that Benue, Nasarawa, Enugu and Cross River could not join this year’s farming season because they could not tidy up their applications and documentation before the deadline elapsed.

    “They could not meet the time for applications and all that. So, we have defered their participation till next wet season”, he added.

  • Fish farmers get N1.2b loans

    Fish farmers in Delta State have received N1.2 billion loans from the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    Mr. Ambrose Nwabuzor, loan officer, Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Asaba, in an interview yesterday with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said BOA secured release of the N1.2 billion.

    He said beneficiaries provided enough securities to guarantee the drawdown of the loan from CBN.

    “Under the private window, we have secured the release of N1.2 billion to eight anchors that came together to form a fish farm.

    “Each of the anchors gave us an irrevocable post-dated cheque (security) and they profiled their farmers,” Nwabuzor said.

    He said BOA would secure release of another tranche of loan for the anchor off-taker in fisheries.

    The loan officer said the off-taker had also provided security for the loans and profiled his farmers under the scheme.

    According to him, the programme is compact in nature and should bring stakeholders together.

    “An anchor off-taker is the most important person in this chain, for without him the programme cannot succeed.

    “He must have the financial strength to pay input suppliers, profile and pay his farmers, mop the farm produce, store, process, preserve and market them at convenient.

    “Here in Delta ABP has the private and state windows,” he said.

    Nwabuzor said the government keyed into the state window to produce oil palm, rice cassava and fish.

    He said because the oil palm had long maturity period, it was not part of the programme.

    “So, we have only three items in the programme, but unfortunately the state has not secured an anchor off-taker for cassava and rice.

    “No money has been released to BOA for payment of input suppliers and farmers in the state,” Nwabuzor said.

    He advised the government to assume the position of an anchor off-taker by providing BOA with an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO).

    The loan officer said the document would ensure that the loans were recovered from the farmers.

  • Fed Govt allays fears over currency risk on dollar loans

    •$3b Eurobond, $300m Diaspora bonds listed on NSE, FMDQ

    The Federal Government has allayed fears that its increasing recourse to foreign-currency denominated bonds may pose considerable currency risk and debt crisis as government has taken measures to ensure that it maintains a prudent and sustainable debt strategy.

    Debt Management Office (DMO) Director-General, Ms Patience Oniha, who spoke at the listing of Federal Government’s Eurobonds and Diaspora Bond at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in Lagos, said Nigeria would not be subjected to any considerable foreign currency risk given foreign exchange earnings from its crude oil and ongoing efforts to diversify the economy.

    According to her, besides the foreign exchange earnings from crude oil, the country stands to gain increased foreign exchange earnings from the ongoing economic diversification programme.

    The NSE admitted the FGN 30 year $1.5 billion Eurobond, FGN 10 year $1.5 billion Eurobond, FGN 5 Year $300 million Diaspora Bond on its daily official list.

    She said government would continue to implement a prudent fiscal and debt management strategy to reduce the cost of debt, rebalance its debt and attain a portfolio of 60:40 foreign/domestic debt structure over the coming years.

    Oniha assured that the DMO would sustain its innovative and diverse fund raising plans to ensure optimal funding structure for Nigeria to address key infrastructural challenges.

    She said the continuing listing of government’s domestic and foreign debt issues on the stock market underscored the commitment of the government to the capital market and recognition of the importance of the market in national economic development.

    She noted that amid uncertainties, the government has so far this year accessed the international capital markets four times in 2017 and at every issue, it had achieved overwhelming success.

    Oniha explained that funding the budget deficit and refinancing the government’s inherited debt portfolio have been the key drivers behind the capital raising plans so far, adding that these will lead to significant benefits, particularly in reduction of cost of funds.

    She noted that the Diaspora bond provided opportunity for Nigerians in Diaspora to contribute to the development of the nation.

    Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Oscar Onyema, said the Exchange would continue to collaborate with the government in the development of Nigerian debt market.

    “We would be coming up with other types of products that will give the investors a good menu of options in terms on how to diversify portfolio,” Onyema said.

    At the listing of the Eurobonds and Diaspora Bond at the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, Oniha said the listings would increase the number and range of securities in the domestic capital markets, thereby deepening the market and promoting financial inclusion.

  • Bad loans

    Bad loans

    •CBN must check the rising incidence and prosecute culprits

    It is a cause for worry and these figures should set off the danger alarm in any economy. It is not only that the level of bad loans in Nigeria’s banking system has risen rather dramatically by 50 per cent in less than one year, but it took another agency and not the apex bank to take note and bring it to public knowledge.

    Last Monday, the Director, Banking Examination Department of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) Mr. Adedapo Adeleke, disclosed the dire state of banks in Nigeria going by the quantum of bad loans in their portfolios.

    Adeleke made this troubling revelation in a presentation: “Curtailing the Growth of Non-performing Loans in Banks – The role of Regulators and supervisors.”

    The report, which reviewed the status of bank credits up to last September notes that while the ratios and volume of non-performing loans (NPLs) continued to grow, the total loans advanced decreased in volume as banks curtailed further lending in their quest for loans recovery.

    Holding back on fresh credits on its own portends serious deleterious effects on an economy which is still in the throes of recession. But since December 2015 to the end of third quarter (September) this year, NPLs have risen astronomically by about 50 per cent, amounting to about N2.4 trillion.

    According to the data emanating from the NDIC, NPLs grew from N1.639 trillion in December 2016 to N2.424 in September, this year. Though the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stipulates that banking industry NPL-ratio- to- capital should be five per cent, this capital adequacy requirement has been overshot and it now stands dangerously at 15.8 percent. What this means is that for some banks, their shareholders’ fund is far below the amount of bad loans in their books.

    This is truly worrisome.

    The issue of bad loans in Nigeria’s banking sector has almost always been a cause for worry. Just about one year ago, the CBN had to order banks to publish the names of customers with non-performing loans. That exercise was carried out in national newspapers causing so much rumpus in the public space.

    But instead of denting the volume of bad loans in the system, many banks merely ended up with a trail of litigations and a few public apologies were issued to certain individuals and companies. The list was mired in controversies, meaning that books had not been properly kept by banks. More remarkable, the real big fish defaulters could not be named for obvious reasons.

    While banks are their own worst enemies, so to speak, depositors’ and shareholders’ funds are the victims of bankers’ insouciance. Banks hardly respect the statutory obligor limits which stipulate certain maximum level of exposure to one particular client or sector.

    But in banks’ books, sectors like oil and gas and telecommunications are given the chunk of loans.

    Again, directors-related loans may be said to be the bane of banks in Nigeria. A most recent example is Skye Bank whose  former chairman had allegedly  accessed loans almost far in excess of the bank’s shareholders’ fund.

    The CBN must come down hard on the issue of insider abuse if it must end the malaise of bad loans. We suggest that loans by any individual or firm serving in any bank must, as a matter of regulation, be made open to the CBN and put under special scrutiny by a body comprising of the CBN and NDIC.

    We also susggest a special documentation by the credit bureau or such agency that must warehouse director-related loans.

    All said, some of the directors who have been found to be remiss recently and have abused their positions should be prosecuted and jailed if found to have fallen foul of the law. This will send a strong message to others and help curb the rampaging impunity of bank directors who trifle with other people’s money.

     

  • Bank directors with bad loans to go

    Bank directors with bad loans to go

    Bank directors with non-performing loans (NPLs) are to quit or be sacked, according to a new Code of Corporate Governance approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    Director, Bank Examination Department at the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Adedapo Adeleke, said the new code was instituted to address the rising cases of insider bad loans, which not only represent a conflict of interest, but are against the prudential guidelines for the industry.

    He described corporate governance as an essential pillar in financial system stability.

    Banks’ assets have depreciated in the last three years, with provisions for NPLs hitting N856.9 billion, due to the drop in crude oil prices. A large part of these bad loans is owed by bank directors and are in most cases unsecured.

    Besides, the economic recession showed that the financial industry still harbours weaknesses in governance, as seen in insider non-performing loans, unreported losses, huge exit packages for directors, over-domineering executive management, contravention of regulatory/prudential guidelines and lending limits, poorly appraised credits and weakening of shareholders’ funds, among others.

    Adeleke, who spoke at the weekend in Kano during a media workshop organised by NDIC for finance reporters, said the Corporate Governance Code for Bank Directors is signed by all bank directors at the point of their appointment, and has a section that empowers the banks’ boards to remove any director with insider non-performing loans. That section says: “If you are having non-performing loans, you will be removed. It is already being enforced except that the regulators are not being dramatic in publishing the names of affected directors,” Adeleke said.

    Speaking on the theme: Curtailing the Growth of Non-Performing Loans in Banks: The Role of Regulators and Supervisors, he  said that delay or non-payment of workers’ salaries by government and private companies is  worsening the level of non-performing loans in the industry. He said the rate of non-performing loans is in excess of 20 per cent as against the five per cent regulatory threshold.

    The NDIC director said when salaries are delayed, workers who have borrowed from banks, especially through consumer loans, always find it difficult to pay back. “If the economy is improving, and government can help to fulfill its responsibilities, including prompt payment of salaries, the level of non-performing loans in the industry will drop,” he said.

    “If people working in companies that are troubled borrowed from banks, it is important that the loans be provided for when their employers can no longer pay salaries,” he said.

    He however, expressed confidence that the current rise in crude oil prices will impact positively on the banking industry and businesses and help reduce the rising cases of bad loans in the industry.

    Adeleke said the establishment of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria II  (AMCON II) to buy up non-performing loans as being suggested can only be private sector led. “If there is going to be AMCON II at all, it is going to be private sector-led,” he said.

    He said the CBN Prudential Guidelines allows banks to review  their  credit  portfolio  continuously  (at  least once  in a  quarter)  with  a  view  to recognising  any deterioration in  credit quality. Such reviews, he added, should systematically and realistically classify banks’ credit exposures based on the perceived risks of default.

  • Banks may recall loans over BVN

    Banks may recall loans over BVN

    Banks are bracing for the effects of a likely  forfeiture of funds in accounts without the Bank Verification Number ( BVN ).

    Should the government enforce the court order on such accounts, the banks will

    • recall loans from customers; and
    • lay-off staff.

    Speaking yesterday on the development, former Registrar/Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Uju Ogubunka, said a massive loan recall would help the lenders keep their liquidity ratio within regulatory threshold.

    Liquidity ratios are based on various portions of a bank’s current assets and liabilities taken from its balance sheet. A bank with a low coverage rate should raise a red flag for investors and customers as it may be a sign that it will have difficulty meeting its short-term financial obligations, and consequently in running its day-to-day operations.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) Economic Report obtained by The Nation showed that aggregate credit (net) to the economy stood at  N27.47 trillion in the first quarter of 2017. The report also indicated that banks loaned N22.27 trillion to the private sector within same period. However, it is not yet established the percentage of the loans that may be recalled by the lenders.

    Justice Dimgba Igwe of the Federal High Court, ruling on an ex parte application filed by the Federal Government through the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation on October 21, granted the temporary forfeiture of funds in accounts not linked to BVN within two weeks unless the owners justify their ownership of such accounts. The deadline for compliance ended last Friday.

    Ogubunka, who is now the President, Bank Customers Association of Nigeria (BCAN) said many banks have ‘core deposits or savings’ which are usually kept with them for long time and used for long-term financing because the owners of the funds might have abandoned them. He said the new policy will likely affect such funds and shake liquidity positions of banks that rely on such funds to finance long-term projects.

    He disclosed that one of the risks banks suffer is regulatory, but the current challenge facing the lenders is legal risks and there are likelihood that some banks may recall credits given out to customers to boost liquidity position.

    He added that such remains an option because of the shortness of time, which makes it difficult for the affected lenders to go for fresh capital immediately.

    When asked if such practice will not be breach of the loan contract, Ogubunka said: “It will not be breach of contract. There is always a caveat in every loan offer which stipulates that the bank may recall the credit or change conditions of the loan. So, any bank that recalls loans under this circumstance is covered by law because such lender needs to stay in business”.

    He also said that job losses remain imminent because the level of deposit to be lost by the affected banks seems huge, and lenders may want to minimize their cost of operation by laying off some of their staff.

    “There will so many implications but we pray no bank goes under. We may see some banks with porous liquidity as the Federal Government begins to implement the court order. But government has to be cautious in implementing this policy because it has huge implications for the banks, customers and economy,” he said.

    He said enough time was not given to bank customer to comply with the directive given that the BVN was not originally meant to be used to confiscate customers’ money but to protect their accounts. “Some people may have taken the BVN policy for granted, but the reality now is that if you don’t have BVN, you may lose the money in your account to the Federal Government,” he said.

    Findings showed that  it would be very difficult to put a figure to the 46 million accounts not linked to BVN but the first generation banks are believed to have the largest number of dormant accounts, although that has not been established. These banks have the largest number of dormant accounts because of how long they have been in the business.

    The CBN through the Banker’ Committee and in collaboration with all banks in Nigeria on February 14, 2014, launched a $50 million centralised biometric identification system for the banking industry tagged Bank Verification Number (BVN). The BVN gives a unique identity that can be verified across the Nigerian Banking Industry (not peculiar to one bank) while bank customers are protected from unauthorised access.

    The Federal Government secured an interim forfeiture order from Federal High Court which would now allow it to freeze the accounts of bank customers in Nigeria who have no Bank Verification Number, BVN.

    The order obtained before Justice Dimgba gave the Federal Government the nod to instruct the banks to disclose any investments made with these funds and to freeze any outward movement from these accounts.

    The court order mandates the CBN to appoint an examiner to look into the books of any commercial bank that fails to comply. The banks are expected to provide the names of accounts without BVN, account numbers, outstanding balances, domiciliary accounts without BVN, branch/locations where these accounts are domiciled.

    Read Also: BVN: First generation banks to suffer biggest losses

  • Heritage Bank plans loans for creative industry

    The creative artistes, who participated in this year’s edition of Lagos Comic Con, got a booster from Heritage Bank Plc as the financial powerhouse allayed their fears over inaccessibility of funds for operators in the industry.

    Speaking at the 6th edition of Lagos Comic 2017, held at NECA House, Ikeja, Lagos, on Saturday, Chubike Agu of the Corporate Communications Department of Heritage Bank; commended the audience at the annual event for their perseverance despite all hurdles against them.

    Agu disclosed that at Heritage Bank, our quest to create wealth across the nation is sacrosanct. According to him, Heritage Bank is known for its paradigm, Timeless Wealth Parter, and it is living up to it; as it gives due financial support to the various sectors of the nation’s economy.

    He stated that Heritage Bank developed interest in Lagos Comic Convention; whose sixth edition held this year; because of the economic potential abound in the industry. Agu noted that with the degree of expertise exhibited by the participating artists in the areas of comics, animation, and gaming film, the future is bright for the creative industry in Nigeria.

    Ayodele Elegba, the Convener of Lagos Comic Con (LCC) and Founder, Mustard seed Communication International; explained that the motive of organising the event is to empower the participating creative artists and others.

    Our target audience, he stated, includes “The entrepreneurs, artists (both veteran and young), and even prospective investors. We do this with keen eyes on the desired future we are building together and not forgetting, even for a second, to always be worthy representatives of our rich cultural heritage in the message of our arts.”

    The annual event, which had as its theme this year, Empower, Heritage and Future, has grown from 300 guests in 2012 into Africa’s biggest geek event with over 3000 visitors in 2016. No fewer than 5000 people attended the programme this year.

  • Govt to close NERFUND over N17.5b loans

    Govt to close NERFUND over N17.5b loans

    The Federal Government plans to shut down the National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND) over non-performing loans of over N17.5 billion.

    Pursuant to this, a committee has been formed to ensure the smooth liquidation of the company by the end of this month.

    The agency said a source in the ministry of finance disclosed this.

    The committee is expected to come up with recommendations concerning the welfare of the NERFUND workers and also what to do with the office equipment.

    The committee is also expected to recommend an agency that would handle the numerous pending court cases initiated by NERFUND to recover billions of naira in bad loans.

    About 1,143 projects in the small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector were reportedly financed with the NERFUND loans between 2010 and 2013.

    A source said NERFUND currently has problems recovering the loans, adding that out of N17.5billion, the sum of N14.2billion representing 80 per cent was borrowed by a few people.

    He said the ratio of non-performing loans was high because many of the loans were not collateralised.

    NAN reports that workers of NERFUND have been officially informed about the development.

    “We have been given the choice to either resign or be sacked. The managing director told us the management is working with the permanent secretary of the federal ministry of finance.

    “They have promised that at the end of the day, we will not be jobless. They will place us somewhere else, so we are expectant,” a worker said.

    NERFUND was established by Decree  2 of 1989 to act as a catalyst towards the stimulation of the rapid rise of real production enterprises in the country, with a seed capital of N300 million.

    In 2002, the federal government merged Nigeria Industrial Development Bank (NIDB) and Nigeria Bank of Commerce and Industry (NBCI) to form Bank of Industry (BOI).

    The federal government excluded NERFUND from the fusion of all development finance institutions (DFIs).

    However, the agency’s capital had grown into billions of naira, but due to poor management the organisation had been in comatose since late 2013, losing its capacity to carry out its mandate.

    In June 2016 the staff of NERFUND took to the streets to protest the mismanagement of the agency funds.

    The Federal Government through Kemi Adeosun, the minister of finance, intervened by first shutting down the agency following failure to reconcile the differences between the executive management and the entire staff.

    Two weeks after the shuown, Adeosun instructed staff to return to work and later appointed Ezekiel Oseni as managing director.

     

     

  • Women get loans in Imo

    Women get loans in Imo

    No fewer than 110 women in Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State have been presented with N100,000 cheques each as soft loans to help them start their businesses. The women were selected across the 11 political wards in the council. The loan has an interest of seven per cent.

    Speaking while presenting the cheques to the beneficiaries at the Njaba Council Secretariat in Nnenasa, the state governor Rochas Okorocha said the sum of N1 billion has been set aside for the empowerment of women in the state. He said that the initiative was to stimulate economic activities within the state.

    The governor, who was represented by the Chairman of the Imo State Board of Internal Revenue (BIR) and state Development Council coordinator for Njaba council, Mrs. Henrietta Jacobs, said “the loan is being disbursed to at least 10,000 women who are involved in small and medium enterprises across state”.

    Okorocha prided that the State in the last six years has risen from 23rd position to third position in the national development index.

    He attributed the feat to the free education programme of his administration, which has made education in the state owned free from primary to university level.

    “Today, Imo women are no longer selling their wrappers, their goats and domestic animals in order to pay their children’s school fees, and today also, despite the dwindling inflow of revenue to the state, the Governor Rochas Okorocha-led administration still considers it expedient to give out N100, 000 loan to each of these Imo women,” he said.

    Okorocha further disclosed that more women would be accommodated in the second and third phases of the programme to bring the number of beneficiaries to 10,000.

    The governor hinted that his intention was to eliminate poverty and boost the local economy by making the women in the state self-reliant.

    He advised the beneficiaries to endeavour to put the loan facility into useful ventures so as to be able to pay back and get a bigger amount in return.

    Some of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Akowuchi Juliet from Okwudor and Mrs. Adaku Mbagwu, from Ibele Umuaka expressed their gratitude to Governor Okorcha for the initiative.

    They said the programme would assist them in their various businesses and reduce poverty in the state, “particularly amongst women that constitute the larger percentage of the population in the state”.

    They promised to pay back the loan within the stipulated time.