Waive COVID-19 Loans For Beneficiaries, Reps Urged Executive

The House of Representatives has called for a waiver of the outstanding COVID-19 survival loans for vulnerable households and micro-businesses, as well as restructuring the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) of the facility.

The House urged the federal government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), NIRSAL Microfinance Bank and the Federal Ministry of Finance, to immediately suspend all deductions on COVID-19 intervention loans.

This followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved by the member representing Bida/Gbako/Katcha federal constituency of Niger state, Hon. Musa Saidu Abdullahi at plenary yesterday.

Moving the motion, Abdullahi said the federal government, through CBN and the NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, introduced the COVID-19 Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) during the pandemic, disbursing ₦419.42 billion to households, micro, small and medium enterprises to cushion the devastating socioeconomic impact of the global lockdown.

He also noted that the programme affected 792,936 beneficiaries nationwide; 674,972 households and 117,964 small businesses, with women accounting for 45% of the beneficiaries (about 330,128 women supported with ₦159.21 billion).

The lawmaker said the TCF was credited with creating or sustaining about 1,585,872 jobs, underscoring its significant impact on livelihoods and enterprise stability during and after the pandemic.

Abdullahi expressed concern that as of September 2023, ₦261.07 billion (about 62%) of the loans remained unpaid, while ₦378.03 billion was classified as outstanding, reflecting widespread inability to repay among vulnerable households and micro-enterprises.

“Further concerned that recent CBN surveys show rising default rates across household and enterprise lending in Q4 2024 and Q2 2025, driven by inflation above 24%, severe food insecurity, loss of purchasing power, business closures, and shrinking household incomes.

“Believes that despite the high default figures reported in 2023, substantial recoveries have been made through the unplanned automatic deductions from beneficiaries’ bank accounts between late 2023 and December 2025; This suggests that the current outstanding exposure may be significantly lower and therefore fiscally manageable for a structured waiver.

“Recognises that the COVID-19 TCF was fundamentally a survival support loan, not a conventional business facility, as many households used the funds for essential needs such as food, shelter, healthcare, and school fees during the lockdown, making repayment unrealistic for those who have not recovered economically.

“Also acknowledges that Nigeria has a strong domestic precedent of leniency in the Anchor Borrowers Programme, where despite its commercial nature and a default rate exceeding 50%, the Federal Government has repeatedly provided restructuring and partial waivers.

“Further recalls that loan waivers for pandemic-era support align with international best practices; countries such as the United States, Canada, Germany, South Africa, and India forgave or waived significant portions of their COVID-19 relief loans or adopted extended moratoriums, recognising the humanitarian context of the pandemic.

“Worried that continued automatic debits and aggressive recoveries are inflicting severe hardship on vulnerable Nigerians, risking the collapse of small businesses, worsening unemployment, and heightening social instability.

“Commends the Federal Government, CBN, and NIRSAL Microfinance Bank for the foresight shown in establishing the TCF, which provided a critical safety net during the pandemic and helped millions of Nigerians maintain basic economic stability,” he added.