The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has threatened to send the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC after farmers who failed to pay back loans obtained under the Anchor Borrowers Programme.
The federal government has loaned out over N1 trillion to farmers under the agriculture interventionist programme in the last few years, according to checks by the Magazine.
Speaking on Wednesday, on the efforts of the federal government to recover loans under various interventionist finance programmes the Director, Development Finance of the CBN, Yusuf Yila said “every person(s) or state that took that loan (ABP) is going to pay”.
He said the apex bank has started deducting the loans directly from debtors’ accounts.
For instance, Yila disclosed that state governments have already liquidated over N400 billion out of the N700 billion they obtained from the CBN, through the Federation Allocation Account Committee, FAAC.
It has been very difficult recovering the loans from farmers who benefitted from the ABP as well, as the Commercial Agric Credit, CAC, he said, adding that the apex bank would do Al in its powers to ensure that the loans are fully recovered.
He spoke during a post-Monetary Policy Committee, MPC in Abuja on Wednesday, assuring that the apex bank is poised to recover loans from states and farmers who were beneficiaries of any of its interventions.
According to him, the CBN will activate its powers under the Global Standing Instructions, GSI to ensure that money kept in various banks by defaulters are recovered to pay their loans. The recovery, he explained, will continue for six months,
Yila said, “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,” he added.
“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 six months, 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. 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.”
