Political farmers major beneficiaries of CBN loans —NLC President

President, Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba has said that political farmers are main benefactors of different Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) interventions to support rural farmers.

The labour president raised the allegation at a meeting organised by ActionAid Nigeria in Abuja as part of activities to mark 2017 Global Week of Action to Fight Inequality.

He said inequality has been instituted in the entire system especially between the rich and the poor in Nigeria.

Wabba identified extreme poverty in the country, lack of efficient pro-poor policies and weak social protection programmes as a result of inequality.

According to him “I have seen of recent on this issue of diversification, I saw people with briefcases and ties calling themselves farmers. They have no connection with the real farmers in the village. They don’t have land. They are portfolio farmers, political farmers. If you go to the CBN, they collect those loans and divert it.

Actionaid Country Director, Ojobo Atuluku in her remark identified women and youth as most hit by impacts of inequality.

She said the Non Government Organisation (NGO) discovered that poverty and inequality was a major bane to developing the people.

She noted that inequality had reached extreme and dangerous levels such that it empowered millionaires and powerful corporations at the detriment of the rural poor.

“For decades, we have focused our work on reducing inequalities which drive and deepen poverty and exclusion. We have moved our work to the whole community targeting the conditions and situation of children, both boys and girls, and the empowerment of women as indicators of a community’s progress,” Atuluku said.

However, she appealed to the Federal Government to sign the Social Protection Policy and ensure adequate budgetary provisions for the initiative.

Atuluku, who emphasised need to setup frameworks for the effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), advised state governments to also partake in the social investment scheme.