Jigawa Decries BoI’s Handling Of N6bn Loan For SMEs

Jigawa State government has expressed dismay over the performance of the Bank of Industry in the implementation of a N6 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with the state to improve access to soft loans for Medium and Small Scale Business in the state.

Irked by the development, the State Executive Council (SEC) had during a meeting directed the state committee handling the MOU to invite the BOI executive, Dutse branch, for clarification.

The state commissioner for Information, Youth, Sport and Culture, Hon Sagir Musa disclosed the council’s resolution while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the state executive council meeting.

Sagir stated that the Jigawa State government’s commitment to fostering Medium and Small-Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) through enhanced access to soft loans made it to sign N6 billion MOUs with the Bank of Industry in 2024.

He explained that under the MOU, Jigawa State government contributed ₦2 billion as a matching fund which was equally matched by the BoI with ₦2 billion.

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“Additionally, the state government contributed another ₦2 billion under a managed fund arrangement to ensure increased access to funding for MSMEs.

“However, the council observed a very low disbursement rate of these funds to qualified MSME applicants which contradicts the essence of the signed MoU. This is seriously a source of concern,” he stated.

According to the commissioner, consequently, the council has directed the Bank of Industry (BoI) management to accelerate the loan approval and disbursement processes to ensure accessibility to eligible beneficiaries.

He added that the council approved for the review of the MoU, if necessary, to incorporate provisions that would guarantee a swift and seamless access to funds for all eligible applicants.

Hon Sagir further revealed that the State Executive Council meeting has equally approved ₦347,645,818.52K for the implementation of Constituency Projects which included construction and renovation of Islamiyya/ primary school classrooms under the State Universal Basic Education, supply of books, chalk, and school uniforms.