The Federal Government took a major step yesterday towards expanding financial inclusion with the inauguration of the board of the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP).
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who performed the ceremony at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, emphasised that access to consumer credit is critical to the country’s ambition of becoming a one-trillion-dollar economy.
About 200,000 Nigerians have benefited from the n37 billion disbursed under the scheme in the last 18 months.
Shettima said CREDICORP was established by the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration in April 2024 to build a trusted credit infrastructure, provide catalytic capital to lower borrowing costs, and help Nigerians overcome long-standing cultural resistance to credit.
According to the Vice President, improving the quality of life of Nigerians requires closing the gap between access to capital and human dignity.
He added that the organisation was specifically tasked with building credit infrastructure to bridge the trust gap between lenders and borrowers, providing wholesale capital and credit guarantees through its portfolio company.
“Ultimately, these critical jobs of CREDICORP will enable access to consumer credit to at least 50 per cent of working Nigerians by 2030,” Shettima said.
The Vice-President, according to a statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications(Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, said ‘’a civil servant who earns honestly does not have to chase sudden wealth just to buy a vehicle, or save for 10 years to buy one.’’
‘’A young professional should not remain in darkness simply because solar power must be paid for all at once,” he added.
