By George Ozalla
Visibly excited Managing Director/Chief Executive of the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (Credit Corp), Mr Uzoma Nwagba, has applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for releasing the sum N50 billion from the Recovery Account of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as a take off grant for the newly established organisation.
Mr Nwagba described the Presidential initiative to release the funds to his Corporation as quite strategic and worthwhile.
He made this known in Abuja on Thursday, September 19, 2024, while on a courtesy visit to the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Ola Olukoyede, at the Commission’s corporate headquarters.
Nwagba revealed that his Corporation, with a take-off grant of N50 billion, had already commenced disbursement of credit facilities to civil servants, and their feedback was highly encouraging.
He expressed gladness and satisfaction with the EFCC’s focus on the preventive framework in driving the anti-corruption fight, further explaining that the modality aligned with his Corporation’s core mandate.
“I think our mandate is critical for the EFCC and our partnership because it tackles the corruption issue from a prevention standpoint. People have less incentive to be corrupt and have less incentive to amass wealth if they have a system and an infrastructure that allows them to meet their basic needs.”
“I admire and respect the EFCC’s focus on prevention rather than recovery, like expanding the efforts around prevention. We have a job quite complementary to that: Assessing fraud and corruption risks,” he said.
In his response, Olukoyede expressed delight with Credit Corp’s mandate, pointing out that it aligned with the EFCC’s mission.
He particularly recounted his address on the need for transactional credits, stressing that no consumer intervention mechanism can adequately prevent the nation from corruption other than the credit system. He commended President Tinubu for his vision and practical approach to the fight against corruption, pointing out that the consumer credit system would greatly assist Nigerians by reducing their propensity for economic crimes.
“Like you rightly said, our mandates align. Of truth, one of the key points I made on the floor of the National Assembly when I was screened for this appointment was the need for us to adopt a transactional credit system. No economy can survive without it”, he said.
He charged Nwagba with paying close attention to regulation compliance so that the consumer credit system would yield optimal values.
“Regarding regulatory compliance, we still have a long way to go. That is why you need to ensure that the issue of compliance is taken seriously. To ensure that the thing gets to the right beneficiaries so that one financial corporation does not just sit on it, divert it and give it out at higher interest as you have described”.
He particularly stressed the need for a low interest rate regime for consumers, maintaining that a single-digit interest rate would better serve the interests of the credit system and greatly reduce poverty among Nigerians.
“We are not seeing this as one of those policies; we are seeing it as something that has the potential of taking Nigerians out of poverty”, he said.
The EFCC Boss reassured Nwagba that the EFCC would continue to support Credit Corp to ensure that the President’s vision in this regard is sustained.
