The Bank of Agriculture (BOA) has stated that it is attempting to recover the N243 million loan issued to 150 borrowers in Kwara between 2011 and 2024.
Dele Aderibigbe, the BOA Ilorin branch manager, revealed this to the press on Monday in Ilorin.
BOA was founded to serve as a development finance institution for the agriculture and rural development sectors. It provides agricultural credit finance to assist entire agricultural value chain operations, rural savings, and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
According to Mr. Aderibigbe, the warehouse loan has been designated as a bad debt but is still being monitored for recovery.
The BOA manager stated that the bank was already in discussions with telecommunication firms and other partners to facilitate debtor tracking.
Mr. Aderibigbe explained that, “The loan is meant to be a revolving loan to be paid back to give other people opportunity, but it is unfortunate that some people see it as a national cake that should be eaten from.”
“The problem we have with most of them is that they use the loan for something different from what they obtained it for.
“Why get a loan to marry second wife or to throw parties? We are advising them to pay up because they cannot go scot-free; through their guarantors and some other measures we are taking already, we will nab them,” he added.
Aderibigbe went on to say that the bank was poised to improve the lives of Nigerians, but some people are bent on frustrating government efforts by refusing to repay their loans.