Otti Holds Strategic Meeting With CBN To Help Abia Businesses Secure Loans

Abia State Governor, Alex Otti has initiated a strategic move to help businesses in the state secure loans from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The move is in line with the governor’s campaign promise that hinges on repositioning the state as an industrial hub.

Abia is famous as an industrial hub in the South-East but over the years, output growth in the state dropped over poor infrastructures and access to credit.

The governor on Friday disclosed he held a meeting with a delegation of the Central Bank of Nigeria Umuahia branch, led by Mr. Olaoba Ayotunde, Branch Controller, and Adiele Kelechi, Development Finance, along with other team members.

The Abia State Chapter Chairman of the National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Mr. Eze Linus Okezie was also in attendance, Otti said in a tweet seen by THE WHISTLER.

The governor said, “They (CBN officials) highlighted the need for improved collaboration between the Abia State Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure effective utilization of development finance resources.

“The discussions bordered on the problems they had encountered in the past, noting that the synergy and requisite structures were not in place to access some of the CBN facilities. “

During the meeting, the apex bank applauded the government’s innovative move to create an intervention department with a focal person to relate with.

Otti explained that businesses in his state have been unable to secure CBN facilities due to bottlenecks like collateralisation and loan receovries.

He said, “Some of the interventions from the CBN that had not been accessed included the SME village, Autonomous Poultry Programme, among others.

“We are going to be weighing in on some of the problems they highlighted, mainly recoveries, collateralisation, and ensuring that the programmes impact positively on the grassroots.”

The governor however disclosed plans to remedy the issues of loan recovery through cooperatives.

Otti said, “We have structured a plan to assist in recovery, looking at the peer pressure advantage in the cooperative model. Cooperative is the core plank of our administration’s driver for SMEs and other empowerment programmes. We also have a Special Adviser in charge of cooperatives.”