Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
An economic expert who is the Chairman of NET Microfinance Bank Limited, Mr. Kolawole Idiaro Abdulrazaq, has said the federal and state governments would effectively access the poor and vulnerable Nigerians with its conditional cash transfer (CCT) through the microfinance banks.
Abdulrazaq, made the appeal in Abuja yesterday, at the official launch of the financial institution at the Dawaki ultra-modern Market in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.
President Bola Tinubu had announced the CTT to 15 million households in a nationwide address to commemorate the country’s independence on October 1, as part of measures to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal on petrol, which has led to an astronomical rise in the cost of living.
The federal government had also approached the World Bank for a fresh loan of $400 million for the conditional cash transfer to 15 million at N25,000 per household for three months as one of the measures to cushion the effects of petrol subsidy removal on Nigerians. The $400 million would bring to $1.2 billion the amount that the Federal Government is borrowing from the World Bank for the cash transfer as it had earlier secured a loan of $800 million for the same purpose.
The NET Microfinance Bank boss said the best way to ensure the real beneficiaries got the money was for it to be channelled through the financial institution they could easily relate with and access.
He said, “As the federal government is preparing to procure a foreign loans for distribution to the poorest of the poor, and the vulnerable ones and the elderly in the society, the only way to get through to them is through the microfinance banks.
“I have seen the blueprint of the government. It was stated that the funds would be distributed through the banks.
“That is part of the reason that the new CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, has said it in different fora that he is out to ensure that the money actually gets to the poorest of the poor.
“I believe that the federal government under the able leadership of President Bola Tinubu is committed to reaching out to the real people who should benefit from the loans.
“That is why he has created a separate ministry for humanitarian affairs and the youths. A lot of projects had been built around the two ministries.
“The microfinance banks would definitely have crucial roles to play in actualising the objectives of the government.
“When this is done, the government would achieve transparency and Nigerians would have trust and confidence that their elected leaders have their interests at heart.”
Abdulrazaq, said the target of his financial institution are the market men and women, traders outside the markets, artisans, petty traders, street traders, students and others who can’t afford to open accounts with commercial banks.
“With as small as N1,000, all categories of Nigerians can open accounts with us,” he said.
The Managing Director of the NET Microfinance Bank, Mr. Saidu Yusuf, said no fewer than 10,000 people in the Bwari Area Council would benefit from its products.
Saidu said, “We have looked at the banking sector and discovered that there are unbanked and the underbanked areas across the country.
“We also look at businesses and discovered that so many SMEs don’t have access to capital.
“We are targeting 10,000 customers in the Bwari Area Council of Abuja. Apart from giving loans and supporting traders to boost their trades, we are also targeting the farmers in the council area by giving them farm inputs and implements.
“We don’t want to give out cash because of past experiences where farmers who collected cash from banks diverted it to other purposes. So, we will give out agriculture inputs like fertilizer, insecticide and the seeds for planting.
“We will sign an agreement with them so that by the time they harvest their crops, we will go and meet them and take the money we invested in terms of farm inputs we gave them.
“We have developed adequate technology to make it for people to access our services even from the comfort of their homes. We have also mounted Automated Teller Machines in strategic places. Any customer who open an account with us would be given their ATM cards immediately.
“A lot of people are not financially literate so we are going to guide the traders and artisans on how to invest their money and do something meaningful with their investment.
“We are targeting 500 farmers with the pilot scheme. They will form cooperatives.
“We have hundreds of POS machines on ground that we hope to give out to our customers.
“The federal government should involve the microfinance banks in its various social intervention policies aimed at helping the poor and vulnerable members of the society.”
