The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has asked beneficiaries of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) loan scheme to repay their loans. Most farmers who obtained loans across the country are not paying back, and the CBN has rolled out recovery measures.
The CBN loans under the Anchor Borrowers program were created to assist Nigerian farmers in increasing their output. However, many farmers consider the fund as their own share of the ‘National Cake’.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has raised concerns about the attitude of farmers not repaying loans, as they believe, the money is their own cut of National Cake.
Nyscînfo.com learnt that CBN launched the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) to help farmers access finance easily in a bid to boost local production in the country. CBN has announced that between January and February 2022, it disbursed over N29.67 billion under the ABP scheme.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has appealed to farmers who haven’t repaid the loan to pay back the loans which they obtained under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP).
Office of the CBN Development Finance made the appeal on Wednesday in Ibadan at the Agri-business Innovation Clinic titled “Fostering Innovation and Collaboration Across the Agricultural Value Chain”. The program was organised by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).
Mr Sadeeq Ajayi, in his addressed said that majority of farmers in Oyo State, who benefited from the program, have not repaid their loans.
CBN believes that ABP can boost local production in Nigeria. However, the Apex bank lamented the inability to recover the loans from the defaulters.
Ajayi noted that the farmers’ failure to repay the loan has prevented other farmers from accessing the facility.
He said:
“While the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme has recorded some level of success, the failure of farmers to repay the loans has, however, been a major setback.
“Many of the farmers refused to pay back their loans due to misconception that since CBN is the lender, the loan is a ‘national cake’ and they do not have to pay back what they consider theirs as citizens.
“This attitude has made it difficult for other farmers, who also want to access the loan, to benefit from the scheme”
Ajayi begged stakeholders, traditional rulers, to appeal to the defaulting farmers to promptly re-pay the loans for the sake of other farmers. He added:
“Of course, we are engaging various stakeholders and we expect the narrative to change very soon so that more people can have access to the fund.”
Meanwhile, the PDP had reacted to reports that Godwin Emefiele purchased the APC N100 million presidential nomination form.
The party’s spokesman, Debo Ologunagba, said Emefiele is insulting the sensibilities of Nigerians by seeking the Office of the President while still serving as the CBN governor of the apex bank. The opposition accused the CBN governor of abuse of office and called on security agencies to arrest and prosecute him.
Source: Nyscinfo.çom