The Bank of Agriculture, BOA, asserts that it is diligently working to recover the N243 million loan extended to 150 Kwara debtors between 2011 and 2024.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Ilorin, BOA Ilorin Branch Manager Dele Aderibigbe revealed this information.
According to him, the warehouse loan is classified as bad debt but is still being monitored for recovery.
The BOA manager stated that the bank was already in discussions with telecommunications companies and other parties that could facilitate the tracing of debtors.
“The loan is intended to be a revolving loan that must be repaid in order to provide opportunities for others, but it is lamentable that some people view it as a national cake to be consumed.
“The issue with the majority of them is that they use the loan for something other than what they obtained it for.
“Why borrow money to marry a second wife or host parties?
Mr. Aderibigbe stated, “We are advising them to pay because they cannot get away with it; through their guarantors and other measures we are already taking, we will catch them.”
He stated that despite the fact that the bank was poised to enhance the lives of Nigerians, certain individuals are determined to sabotage government efforts.
Before the final disbursement, we conduct a Project Identification Visit, a Pre-Disbursement Visit, and a Pre-Take Off Visit.
“And in a year, we give out loans ranging from N250,000 to N1.5 million with a 14 percent decreasing balance interest.”
“Therefore, it’s not because the procedure or payment method was difficult; they simply chose not to repay the loan,” the BOA manager explained.
BOA was founded to serve as an agricultural and rural development sector development finance institution.
It offers agricultural credit financing to support all agricultural value chain activities, rural savings, and Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs).