Bank of Agric fears N243m Kwara loan used for new wives

The Bank of Agriculture (BOA) says it has been unable to recover N243 million given as loans to 150 people in Kwara state.

The loans were disbursed over years starting from 2011, and beneficiaries have since failed to pay back, with some likely using the money to marry new wives, a bank official said.

Although now classified as “bad debt”, the BOA is still trying to recover the money, BOA Ilorin manager Dele Aderibigbe said.

He said the bank is working with telecom companies to track the beneficiaries.

“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,” Aderibigbe told News Agency of Nigeria.

Marrying a new wife

The BOA was set up to carry out functions of a development finance institution for the agriculture and rural development sector.

The bank provides agricultural credit finance to support all activities along the agricultural value chain, rural savings and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

Aderibigbe said the bank gives between N250,000 and N1.5 million at 14% to an individual annually.

“So, it is not that the process or payment method was cumbersome, they just chose not to pay it back,” he said.

“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,” Aderibigbe said.