The office of the Minority Whip/member representing Arochukwu State Constituency, in the Abia House of Assembly, has frowned at a recent publication in the National Dailies, with the headline ”CBN: Southeast Unwilling to Access Credit Facilities”, where the Acting Director of Corporate Communications Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, was quoted as saying that the people of Southeast are unwilling to access credit facilities from the CBN.
The Minority Whip/member representing Arochukwu state Constituency, Abia State House of Assembly, Hon. Dr. Mike Onyekwere Ukoha
He stated this during a fair organized by the bank recently, with the theme ”promoting financial stability and economic development”.
From the look of things, it seems that the CBN financial programs/loans have not been made accessible to south east because our efforts so far in utilizing the programs have not yielded the expected out come.
The office of the Minority Whip/member representing the good people of Arochukwu LGA, had organized four financial training seminars in Arochukwu, in partnership with Homeland Consult & Training Institute Ltd (accredited EDI) and the NIRSAL Bank, Arochukwu in attendance.
We had more than 100 individuals from Arochukwu LGA, who participated and certificates were issued to them.
In all, about 60 percent had gone for interviews and less than 10 percent had received the loan.
The people have been waiting patiently with frustration evidently written all over their faces. It may interest the public to know that as a result of this frustration, the bank has been informed that we will no longer hold further training, until all those who have been interviewed and approved, receive the loan.
It will be pertinent to state it here that our last training seminar was in March, 2021, at Obinkita Hall, Arochukwu.
The Minority Whip has been so passionate about this program and as a serious proponent of the program, he has been working closely with the CBN staff at Umuahia, for other cooperatives who had gone through all requirements, but unable to receive the loan as of today for cassava farming in Arochukwu.
It appears that the CBN, has advertently or inadvertently neglected the people of the Southeast in terms of making the loans available.
It is time for the Central Bank of Nigeria to arise and make available loans to south east zone.
Authorities of the CBN, must act fast to know why the Southeast has been unwilling to access the credit facilities and if there are bottlenecks or bureaucracies attached to it, then it must be removed henceforth to allow for smooth operations.
If the loans are not accessible to the people they were meant for, it will then mean that the credit facilities of the CBN is geared towards other zones and not for the South east zone; for what is good for the goose is also good for the gander.
Finally, we humbly ask the Acting Director of Corporate Communication Department to come to the aid of our interested constituents who are waiting for the loans. Our contact can be at 0806 270 9660. Thanks.
Chimezie Okoroafor is the Media Assistant to the Minority Whip
ABHA.
