MfBs request Lagos State to create special court to address bad loans

Speaking at the association’s eighth Annual General Meeting/Election in Lagos, Chairman, NAMBLag, Mr. Omololu Fatunbi, said that the letter has been submitted to the office of the commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Lagos State. According to him, the letter is receiving special attention adding that NAMBLag still has about 200 members despite revocation of licenses of some of them by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, last month. Fatunbi stated: “This perhaps is a strong signal to the strategic importance of Lagos State in the delivery of sustainable financial inclusion of the under-banked and the active poor in Nigeria as at today. The executives have not for once stopped to sensitize the public especially our customers on the importance of enrolling on the platform of Bank Verification Number, BVN as means of positively contributing to the financial inclusion agenda of the CBN. Our member banks have prioritize the BVN enrolment in their various banks, even though quite a number of the unbanked are yet to benefit from the BVN registration of customers and other areas of our operations is ongoing.” Meanwhile, the association has elected new executives to direct it’s affairs for the next two years, retaining its Chairman, Fatunbi; Mrs. Mojisola Garber as Vice Chairman. Mr Obinna Onunkwo, General Secretary; Pastor Ayo Olusola, Assistant General Secretary; Mr Cheta Agbo, Financial Secretary; Mrs Oladejo Taiwo, Treasurer and Princess Adeola Ilozobhie, Public Relations Officer were also elected. In his remark, former National President, NAMB, Mr. Valentine Whensu, said that the sub sector is a sector that sows seeds willingly due to its nature of empowering people both socially and financially. “Financial involves making it sustainable why social is really empowering people by bringing them out of poverty,” Whensu said. Also, Managing Director, Capestone Microfinance Bank, Mrs. Betty Oluwasina, who received award of excellence in the sub-sector, commended those that started microfinancing in 2006 and the new entrants that have the boldness to come in despite all the happenings in the sub sector. “Surviving in the microfinance industry in Nigeria is tough and for those that started it in the 2006 and the new entrants that have the boldness to come in despite all the happenings in the sub sector, I commend you. It has been a tough ride. Over the years, new policies have come up and the best so far is the BVN. The PAR of most MfBs have reduced drastically, when we first started in my bank, PAR was 90 percent but today it is less than one percent, Oluwasina said.]]>