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The Federal Government has directed applicants of the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme to submit their National Identification Numbers as part of the necessary requirements to obtain a grant earmarked to cushion the effect that recent economic reforms have had on businesses in the country.
The government through the Bank of Industry had said it would be disbursing three categories of funding totalling N200 billion to support manufacturers and businesses across the country.
The Federal Government through the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment said the new rule was based on the new regulations from the Central Bank of Nigeria directing Nigerians to link their National Identification Numbers with their bank accounts.
The trade minister, Doris Aniete issued the new directive in a post on her official X on Sunday.
Rocketparrot New report that the latest development marks another delay in disbursing the grant announced by President Bola Tinubu in a nationwide address in August 2023 for manufacturers and small businesses.
It could be recall that the president said he was determined to strengthen the manufacturing sector, increase its capacity to expand, and create good-paying jobs.
“We are going to spend N75 billion between July 2023 and March 2024. Our objective is to fund 75 enterprises with great potential to kick-start sustainable economic growth, accelerate structural transformation, and improve productivity.
‘’Each of the 75 manufacturing enterprises will be able to access N1billion credit at 9 per cent per annum with a maximum of 60 months repayment for long-term loans and 12 months for working capital,” Tinubu said.
But eight months later, the programme domiciled under the Trade Ministry and executed by the Bank of Industry is yet to reach a significant stage despite several promises by the minister.
The President of the Association of Small Business Owners (ASBON), Femi Egbesola, decried the slow pace data collation by the supervising agencies, alleging that genuine businesses were being deliberately discouraged from accessing the loans
