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LCCI opposes CBN’s credit policy on debtor firms

By BusinessNews Staff on August 26, 2014

The President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Alhaji Remi Bello, has kicked against the Central Bank of Nigeria’s policy that bars certain businesses and their promoters from obtaining fresh loans from banks.

Bello, who spoke when he led the executives of the LCCI on a visit to Origin Group Limited in Lagos on Friday, called for a review of the policy.

He said it was inappropriate for the banking sector regulator to criminalise those who approached banks for loans simply because their businesses had challenges and could not pay previous credit facilities on the agreed terms.

He said in a statement made available on Sunday, “There’s a need to revisit some of the policies of the Federal Government, especially that of the Central Bank of Nigeria regarding the outright ban on people who were given loans and could not meet up with the repayment, not because of failure on their part, but because of the challenges the nation is facing, inclusive of the insurgency in the North, and very recently, the Ebola issue. There is a need for a review of some of these policies by the CBN governor.

“Some of these policies, especially with regard to some bad loans and facilities, which are as a result of the challenges the nation is facing. The new CBN governor will need to go back and look at these policies as they affect businesses that are under one intervention fund or the other, and which are not able to operate now. They should be given some special consideration.”

He argued that an outright ban on people because they were involved in running those businesses and could not meet up with the repayment of the facilities needed to be addressed seriously.

“Don’t criminalise people that are taking loans. If you are not taking loans and you are not taking facility, you are not in business,” Bello said.

The LCCI team was received by the Group Managing Director, Origin Group, Mr. S. Samuel, who said his vision was to transform the group into an entity that would ensure food security for the country.

He said the tractor hiring arm of the conglomerate was in the process of partnering state governments to avail farmers of the opportunities in the unit and help to expand their yield per hectare.

He added that some of the group’s products, including Vegefresh, had already made appreciable inroad into local and international markets.

Bello expressed satisfaction with what he saw during the visit, adding, “We have seen that this business is creating about 500 jobs as of now with the potential to increase jobs to about 3,000 in the future. We believe that with the necessary support and the right policies in place, it will be a lot better.”

[Punch]

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