Tag: National Institute of Credit Administration

THE National Institute of Credit Administration (NICA), chartered, has reiterated its statutory mandate and readiness to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Federal Government in transforming Nigeria from a cash-based economy into a sustainable, credit-driven ecosystem.

Giving this assurance was the Dr. (Mrs) Markie Idowu, FICA (President/Chairman NICA Governing Council).

In a statement issued on behalf of the Institute and made available to our correspondent, the body stated matter-of-factly that it in line with the provisions of the NICA Act 26 of 2022, it is empowered to support President Tinubu’s administration and the Federal Government in matters relating to credit administration, credit management, and the promotion of ethical credit practices, whether formally invited or not.

NICA emphasises that achieving a functional credit economy requires deliberate collaboration, cooperation, and consultation with specialist professional institutions.

NICA has consistently committed to training Nigerians, creating nationwide awareness, and advocating for the national policy shift to promote the culture of honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness necessary for credit business transactions, along with the stimulation of legal provisions to hasten credit default recoveries. These virtues, the Institute notes, are fundamental build up to confidence in both consumer and business credit activities for a resilient credit economy.

While acknowledging efforts by the government towards creation of access to credit-induced economic reforms, NICA boss expressed concern that insufficient engagement with professional institutions could slow down the pace of meaningful transformation. Nigeria’s economy, the Institute stated, is complex and requires inclusive thinking that embraces expert input into policy formulation and implementation.

“Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians,” the Institute noted. “Governments succeed best when they approach policy development with open minds and hands, engaging credible, transparent, and well-structured professional bodies with statutory powers, who are genuinely interested in national economic development.”

The action of the federal government which seems unready to embrace professional synergy is a huge disincentive to the credibility and integrity of its plans and policies.

As the nation moves into 2026, NICA congratulates Nigerians and those in government for sustaining governance and economic reform momentum, while at the same time, urging the Federal Government to institutionalise a culture of collaboration and partnership with critical stakeholders.

According to the Institute, such openness is essential for entrenching a strong credit culture society and achieving long-term economic robustness. Essentially, the goal of the government is to launch Nigerians into a people-centred economic model which affords everyone the opportunity to create jobs, make wealth, and contribute to a stronger GDP. That economic model is the credit economy. But the government alone driving the process might be fruitless. No government knows it all. Federal government should work with the body of experts statutorily recognised, taking advantage of why such bodies exist under the legislative framework of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the first instance.

Prof. Chris Onalo, FICA (Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, NICA), some statutory professional bodies, by the nature of their mandates, have more to do with and for the government than others. Such is the case with the National Institute of Credit Administration (NICA), chartered. It would therefore be a misapplication to suggest otherwise.

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Professional bodies like to keep their credibility and reputation. Nowhere in the world has any professional body gone out, cap in hand, begging the government for collaboration. It is the government that asks for their collaboration, requesting inputs into policies that are being formed. A government that wants to succeed goes out to ask for partnership discreetly.

In the case of Nigeria moving from a cash-based economic system to a credit -based economy model, the government seems to be doing it all alone, and as a result, there are lots of avoidable policy errors and unclear implementation roadmap in what we have seen so far. These errors could have been avoided if government-recognised professional bodies in the credit economy management arena had been consulted.

Such bodies don’t charge much, but they will charge for the value of the input they provide in shaping such policies; hence, they are not funded by the government.

As NICA congratulates Nigerians and the people in government for making it to 2026, it urges the federal government to consider opening the culture of collaboration and partnership more critical with stakeholders in an honest and straightforward manner so as to make Nigeria great again.

NICA reaffirmed its commitment to working with the federal and state governments, the media, and other stakeholders to advance Nigeria’s credit economy agenda in an honest, professional, and straightforward manner for the collective good of the country.

The top management of the National Institute of Credit Administration (NICA) has impressed on employers of professional credit managers the need to establish a Credit Awareness Desk in their respective firms.

Speaking with our correspondent in Lagos, the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, NICA, Prof. Chris Onalo, said this will further help to bridge the gap between the credit grantors/providers and their customers to whom they have granted credit lines and those whose applications are on cue.

He said, “There is a need for the employers of credit professionals to introduce credit awareness desks or credit counseling desks. There should be a department where credit professionals can give some hours of discussion with the credit customer applicant.”

While reiterating the fact that there is need for the employers of credit professionals in the country to establish in their offices credit awareness desks for the existing and potential credit customers in their businesses in order to create awareness on creditworthiness requirements, as well as how to overcome repayment challenges, Onalo said this becomes inevitable in order to enhance efficient service delivery within the credit ecosystem.

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Nigeria’s statutory body for the control, supervision, and regulation of the credit management profession, the National Institute of Credit Administration, gave this advice.

According to the professor of credit management who has been consistently advocating for a new economy in Nigeria driven by a credit system, when a credit is approved, there should be monitoring to know if the transaction is making good progress or there are challenges.

Onalo said the professional credit manager or controller should ask questions on issues like, “Do you have any problem? Do you have any difficulty? How is your business going? How prudent use of credit grows or expands a business? The consequences of a failed credit, etc.

“That interface will help to significantly educate credit customers, whether it is those that have borrowed money from financial institutions, or those who are distributors of manufactured products or goods which they have collected from manufacturers on credit terms, etc. So, that desk must be there.”

As part of its duties on awareness creation, he said, as a statutory professional body with national mandate to oversee the development of credit management profession in Nigeria, NICA is expanding its awareness campaign to include all credit matters across industries in the country. This will go a long way to smoothing the path for transitioning the economy from cash-based to credit system currently being put in place by the federal government.