THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said it will onboard more famers and commodity associations in Ogun State to benefit from its Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP).
This is even as seven debtor companies who got a cumulative loan of N5.7 billion under the CBN Anchor Borrower’s Programme have been given a final Demand Notice to pay up or await legal but unsavoury means to recover the money.
The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, gave this assurance when the Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, led leadership of the Ogun Famers and Commodity Association to the headquarters of the apex bank in Abuja, on Thursday.
Emefiele noted the bank’s readiness to give more support to the state in line with the economic diversification agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
On his part, Abiodun lauded the bank for giving maximum support to the state nominees for the ABP.
According to him, the meeting also provided an opportunity to deliberate on other areas requiring improvement including onboarding of additional beneficiaries who are eager to benefit from the agricultural linkage opportunity facilitated by his administration for farmers and other value chain actors in Ogun State.
Abiodun stressed that agriculture remains one of the cardinal policy thrusts of his government, assuring that his administration would continue to give agriculture its pride of place with the aim of making Ogun the food basket of the country.
Meanwhile, the final Demand Notice to the debtor companies was written through the issuing bank, NIRSAL Microfinance Bank (NMFB) and addressed to the seven debtor firms.
The development, according to NMFB, was sequel to a directive from the apex bank directing it to recover all non-performing intervention loans it granted under the ABP.
The debtors are; Sadolen Interworld Limited, with Saidu Audu Adaji and Nura Musa Hassan as promoters with a current exposure of N2,050,831,880.50; Gum Arabic Farms and Commodities Limited, with Alhaji Yusuf Ibrahim Babangida as promoters and a current exposure of N1,220,957,105.30, and Prime Synergy Global Solutions Limited with Mercy Ikeji and Jennifer Nyesom-Effiong as promoters with an exposure of N1,451,720,437.00.
Others are: Asuj Food Production and Processing Limited, with Abubakar Umaru Jibrilla as the promoter with an exposure of N581,416,350.39; Souvenire Seeds Nigeria Limited with Roseline Omokora as the promoter and an exposure of N158,184,197.50 and Con Investment Limited with Lady Josephine Nwaeze as the promoter with a current exposure of N211,605,477.96.
According to NMFB, earlier Demand Notices have been issued by NMFB to the last known addresses of the aforesaid customers, adding the statement now serves as the final demand notice.
The ABP was launched on November 17, 2015, in Kebbi State by President Muhammadu Buhari and the CBN governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele.
The ABP was aimed at creating a linkage between anchor companies involved in processing and smallholder farmers of key agricultural commodities like cereals (rice, maize, wheat, etc.), cotton, roots and tubers, sugarcane, tree crops, legumes, tomato and livestock.