The Federal Government yesterday
said it would float People’s Money Bank in the country next year.
It added that the bank, when
established, will have branches in all the states of the federation for traders
and artisans to have access to credit facilities.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said
this in Ilorin, Kwara State capital at the launch of ‘Tradermoni’ micro-credit
scheme.
Prof Osinbajo made the disclosure
during a talk in a private radio station, Sobi FM Ilorin, after launching the
programme at Ipata and some other markets in the town.
He said that there is no politics
involved in the administration’s ‘Tradermoni’ micro-credit scheme.
The Vice President said the
government considered petty traders for the programme because it is always
difficult for them to access bank loan because of the belief that they would
hardly refund.
He said though there was no
collateral for the loan, refund may not be difficult with the design that a
beneficiary who refunds will receive bigger one.
He explained that beneficiaries
at the start are given N10,000 while after refund they receive N15,000 with the
progression to continue up till N50,000.
He said that the government
targeted a total of two million petty traders across the states of the
federation for the programme with minimum of 30,000 beneficiaries per state.
He added that contrary to
insinuations in some quarters, it was neither buying vote with the programme
nor favouring members of the All Progressives Congress with the programme.
He said contrary to the criticism
that the government launched the programme at election time, the programme
started in 2016 and fully took off after the National Assembly approved money
for it about seven months ago.
Osinbajo said the programme was
for the benefit of the masses, petty traders, saying that once the people enjoy
the benefit, it is out of place to be complaining about the timing, asking: “Is
there any time wrong to do the right thing?”
He denied that the micro credit
was being given to only members of the APC, saying that beneficiaries are not
considered on account of party affiliations but on merit.
“It is false that only members of
the APC are being considered for the money. Nobody even asks anybody about his
or her party or trying to know whether you are APC or PDP. Even those who
belong to no party are part of the beneficiaries,” he stated
He said that the Marketmoni
version of the micro credit programme meant for artisans and marketers of
higher status would commence with N50,000 for the beneficiaries and explained
that the people could receive up to N300, 000 when they do not derail in
refunding.
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