Business

CBN goes after states, farmers over N600b unpaid loans

Published

2 years ago

September 29, 2022

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has begun an aggressive drive to recover the loans it gave out under its development finance interventions.

Top on the list of debtors are state governments whose monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) accruals are already being debited directly every month. The deductions will last six months.

Director, Development Finance of the CBN Yusuf Yila, who disclosed this during a post-Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in Abuja yesterday, did not name the debtor states.

Yila, who named the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) and Commercial Agric Credit (CAC) as some of the intervention programmes, said: “Every person(s) or state that took that loan (ABP) is going to pay. We have their BVN.”

Such persons referenced by Yila are smallholder farmers, who received funds for farming from state governments via the ABP, but have yet to pay them back.

The CBN director added that the apex bank was collaborating with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to ensure that the loans were recovered.

Yila said while the ABP loan repayments were particularly poor, that of CAC was almost excellent.

Under the ABP, the CBN gave out about N1 trillion but recovered only N400 billion. But under the CAC, the bank. lent out about N800 billion and recovered N700 billion.

His words: “We have started recovering loans from state governments. We have been doing a loan workout programme with them and we are debiting their monthly FAAC accruals directly for the loans.

“If a state government has taken N1 billion and is already in default, over a six-month period, we debit them N150 million every month. So, we’ve started that programme..

“So, every single loan that has been given out through any of our intervention programmes must be paid back.

“There is absolutely no mercy. We have started; we are in recovery mode. At the development finance department, we have begun to recover the loans.”

“There is the ABP which is a primary consumption element of our interventions. We lent out N1 trillion for the ABP of which we have gotten over N400 billion back.

“Every single person or state that took that loan (ABP) is going to pay. We have their BVN. In fact, we have started implementing the Global Standing Instruction (GSI).

“We will continue to pull the account in the bank that they lent to or whichever bank that they have account. Anytime we see money in that account, we will recover it.

“We are working with the EFCC. The CBN governor has approved the collaboration with the EFCC on loan recoveries.”

Yila also said that credit facilities extended to businesses and individuals have not performed poorly.

Auto

Yuletide: Chisco deploys new luxury, mini buses, top quality services

Published

1 hour ago

January 1, 2025

Trends Admin

Yuletide: Chisco deploys new luxury, mini buses, top quality services

…hails Tinubu for 50% fare rebate

Nigeria’s Transport Company of the Year, Chisco Transport Ltd, has deployed in various routes nationwide its newly procured new luxury and mini buses with the latest innovative features in the industry.

It assured the travelling public of safe and top quality services on all its routes this Christmas/New Year season, and beyond.

It stated this in a statement released on Tuesday, adding that the company, which had been one of the country’s front runners in long distance passenger transportation and logistics for over 45 years, recently inaugurated about four new branches in order to bring its services closer to its teeming customers.

It listed some of the new branches that had helped to boost service delivery this Yuletide season as in Awka, Enugu, and on Okota Road (near Cele Bus Stop on Oshodi-Apapa expressway), Lagos.

It stated, “This is in addition to embarking on a comprehensive maintenance of the existing fleet of buses in order to ensure they are in roadworthy shape for trips across Nigeria and the Lagos-Cotonou-Lome-Accra international route.

“Apart from advanced safety features like real-time GPS tracking and efficient safety systems, the new-look Chisco Transport fleet, featuring state-of-the-art buses, has all it takes to guarantee that passengers travel in style with their comfort and safety prioritised this season.”

It stated that the updated fleet had enhanced the popular Chisco 24 to 48-hour nationwide mail and parcel services.

All these, the leading transport solutions and logistics provider said, are part of deliberate efforts to ensure seamless and comfortable bus and logistic services to the customers during the 2024 Yuletide season and thereafter.

Chisco’s Head of Business Operations, Mr Buchi Ochuba, in the statement explained that the same commitment to ensuring safe and comfortable trips out of major cities and towns before Christmas, would also be deployed to return journeys in the new year.

He said that the management was aware that the huge investments the company had been making towards upscaling its services recently earned it the Transport Company of the Year at the recent Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) Awards in Lagos.

Ochuba reiterated Chisco Transport’s resolve to sustain the high standards that earned the company an enviable reputation, as well as continue investments in safety and comfort of travellers that have earned it the confidence of the travelling public and the auto journalists’ award.

“We appreciate the fact that in adjudging Chisco Transport the Transport Company of the Year, NAJA must have taken into consideration the high standards of our services, the over 50 new air-conditioned buses we procured recently, the new branches we inaugurated, our customer reward scheme and other investments we made to enhance passenger transportation and logistics,” Ochuba stated.

According to him, everything is in place to make certain that the teeming Chisco Transport customers all over Nigeria and on the international route enjoy top quality services, adding “We wish them a wonderful Christmas and a highly prosperous 2025.”

Chisco Transport also applauded President Bola Tinubu for the gesture of subsidising inter-state luxury bus transport fares by 50 percent this Christmas season.

Drawing attention to the importance of infrastructure to the road transportation business, the statement further commended the President for the appreciable allocations for the sector in the 2025 budget.

“We, therefore, wish to urge members of his cabinet to put in more deliberate efforts to help the President attain his vision with speedy and prudent execution inspired by patriotism.”

On the current sharp increase in fares across the routes, the award-winning transport company blamed the situation on rising costs of maintaining the buses, as well as on the high pump prices of diesel and petrol.

The Head of Operations, however, added that at the peak of every Christmas season, long distance buses are almost empty during return trips, which leads to a situation whereby the fares for the first journeys are raised to cushion the losses incurred during reverse trips.

Business

Naira exchanges N1,650/$ in parallel market

Published

5 hours ago

January 1, 2025

Trends Admin

Naira exchanges N1,650/$ in parallel market

Yesterday, the Naira appreciated N1,650 per dollar in the parallel market, compared to N1,655 on Monday.

Similarly, the Naira appreciated to N1,535 per dollar in the official foreign exchange market.

Business

Exchange rate ends 2024 at N1,535/$1, marking a 40.9% depreciation

Published

17 hours ago

December 31, 2024

Trends Admin

Exchange rate ends 2024 at N1,535/$1, marking a 40.9% depreciation

The exchange rate between the naira and the dollar ended the year at N1,535/$1 representing a 40.9% depreciation for 2024.

The official exchange rate between the naira and dollar closed in 2023 at N907.11/$1 thus depreciating by 40.9% for the year which compares to a 49.1% devaluation at the end of 2023.