In order to look into the alleged unequal disbursement of an N483 billion loan from the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) to Medium and Small-Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in the six geopolitical zones in 2021, the Senate has established an ad hoc committee.
This came after a motion moved by Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume (APC, Borno) on Wednesday during plenary that had 64 more sponsors.
Babangida Oseni, Ali Ndume, Banigo Ipalibo, Sani Musa, Chizoba Chukwu, and Adetokunbo Abiru are the other members of the seven-person panel, which is presided over by Dave Umahi.
In four weeks, it must report back to the assembly.
A similar probe, according to the Daily Trust, was conducted in the 9th Senate.
An ad hoc panel had been set up by the 9th Senate to look into the claim that the South-West, especially Lagos State, had the largest number of loan beneficiaries.
The DBN officials then told the panel that they adhered strictly to the criteria set up by their regulators and not geopolitical considerations in giving out loans.
Ndume, who was dissatisfied with the outcome of the last investigation and the committee’s recommendation, said there was a need for the Senate to look at the issue critically again owing to the huge disparity in the loan disbursement.
He said the bank’s Annual Integrated Statutory Report 2021 showed that it disbursed a loan worth N483 billion in 2021.
He said out of the N483 billion, only 11 per cent went to the 19 northern states totaling N53 billion while Lagos alone got 47 per cent, which amounts to N227 billion.
Ndume said the breakdown of the loan disbursement, according to the bank’s report, further showed that South West got the lion’s share with 57 per cent of the total loan, estimated to be N274.7 billion.
According to him, the South-South region accounted for 17% (81.9 billion) of all access, followed by the North Central and FCT at 11% (53 billion), the South East at 9% (43.3 billion), the North West at 5% (24 billion), and the Northeast at a pitiful 1% (4.8 billion).
He said that the five sectors taken into consideration for the loan are manufacturing (16%), trade and commerce (6.3%), agriculture, forestry and fishery (7.2%), and oil and gas (42%).
According to Ndume, the purpose of the DBN is to help MSMEs in Nigeria overcome their financial constraints by offering funding, partial credit guarantees, and technical support to qualified financial intermediaries in a manner that is both market- and financially sustainable.
Ada Peter
