The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is initiating efforts to recoup COVID-19 intervention loans extended to specific groups of Nigerians to alleviate severe socio-economic hardships. However, some of the loan recipients are expressing concerns about the retrieval process.
One recipient, Fatimah Alli, voiced her distress, stating that the sudden demand for repayment of her N500,000 COVID-19 loan has exacerbated her financial difficulties. She explained, "I acquired a N500,000 loan in 2020 to mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19. At that time, we were assured that repayment wouldn't be necessary. But recently, the CBN withdrew all the funds from my bank account as part of the loan recovery effort."
Another beneficiary of the Targeted Credit Facility (TCF), Abbas Sule, also raised objections to arbitrary deductions from his bank account. He recounted, "When I received the loan in 2020, the bank official who processed it through NIRSAL Microfinance Bank (NMFB) received a N50,000 commission, and I received N450,000. Now they are requesting repayment of N500,000, which seems unfair."
The microfinance bank disclosed that it had disbursed loans totaling N503 billion to over 881,081 Nigerian individuals and businesses to mitigate the pandemic's repercussions.
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