The Anchor Borrowers’ Loan Scheme floated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to provide cash for enhanced agricultural production in Nigeria is in a ditch as beneficiaries refuse to repay the loan on the maturity date.
Reports say that out of the N1.1 trillion disbursed by the CBN to beneficiaries, only about N546 billion has been repaid, leaving a whopping balance of N577 billion.
Funds held up by farmers, state governments and others
The beneficiaries hold up a vast amount, including commercial and microfinance banks, state governments, farmers’ associations, individuals, and other corporate organizations.
Vanguard quoted presidential sources saying President Bola Tinubu gave security agencies marching orders to recover the loan from defaulters on or before September 18, 2023.
Tinubu reportedly summoned top security agencies and urged them to take all necessary action to recover the vast amount.
According to the report, CBN’s subsidiary and a commercial bank in Nigeria, which acted as mediators, allegedly diverted about N255 million, which they secured from CBN but refused to disburse or return to the apex bank.
Some beneficiaries refused to repay the loan, claiming they did not make substantial returns on their investments and asked for more time to repay.
CBN, NMfB embark on massive loan recovery, combs debtors’ accounts
Legit.ng reported that Nigeria’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in partnership with NIRSAL Microfinance (NMfB), has begun recovering their loans from defaulting Nigerians.
The Nation reported that on Friday, October 28, 2022, many Nigerians noticed debit alerts from their banks, including their dependents whose Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) are linked to their accounts.
NMfB began the recovery of loan facilities granted to Nigerians under the Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) and the Agric, Small Medium Enterprises Scheme (AGSMEIS). The CBN had threatened beneficiaries of the loans that it would begin the recovery process soon.
