Would you like to receive notifications on latest updates of the following headlines?

Over 70% Businesses in Rivers, Fakes and Unfit for Govt Loans

POSTED ON May 3, 2024 •   Business      BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara
Rivers State Governor,Siminalayi Fubara l Credit: @simfubaraKSC l Source: X

The Rivers State Government has regretted that over 70 percent of businesses operating in the state are fake and not due to receive loan facilities from the government. 

The Rivers State Microfinance Agency, RIMA, an agency of the government in Port Harcourt, discloses this  during a media chart ahead of the flag off of a loan scheme by thethe state governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, in association with the Bank of Industry (BoI), for the Micro, Small and Medium Scale  businesses in the State. 

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of RIMA, Pastor Jonathan Toby, who addressed pressmen, disclosed that the state's government and the Bank of Industry ( BoI), were in a collaboration to give loans to businesses in the state, noting that the target of the state government is to see businesses flourish.  
Toby noted that the Rivers State government signed an MoU with BoI on the 5th of January 2024 to collaborate on providing business facilities for businesses in the state, revealing that the total sum released for the process was N4 billion. 

He said the fund is not for startups, Greenfields but for established businesses, Brownfields, that the import of the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU is to collaborate and pull funds together for the use of business men and women.
The RIMA MD said after the MoU was signed that 2 billion was released from Rivers State to Bank of Industry, noting that RIMA has identified business men and women in the state across the 23 local government areas of the state. 

He said: “The conditions for the loans are so simple and we have two categories of the loan. We have the loan between N1000 to N1,000,000.00, for small businesses. This one is processed in house here. Those above N1,000,000.00 to 50,000,000 are processed by BoI. 
We receive all the applications process them and see they meet up the requirements.
“After profiling, we still go out to verify the businesses to see whether the name given matches the photograph. The business address is correct. 
We have done that in Port Harcourt and environ and we were surprise that more than 70 percent of them are impersonators. 

“They impersonated. They gave use wrong addresses, wrong businesses. Some of them could not pick our calls, they failed to present themselves. We have kept them in view until they come back here to tell us that they are genuine.
“We have sieved them and we have 3,066 as at 30th of April, 2024. This number is qualified for disbursement. These 3066 businesses in the state are requesting for N1.62 billion. We have sent 103 applications to BoI for them to look at and do their due diligence.” 

Toby, however, noted that the interest rate is 7.5 % annually and the repayment tenure is six months to one year, while the BoI angle is between 2 to three years.

READ ALSO
South Africa Surpasses Nigeria in Fuel Imports Amid Dangote Refinery Operations
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara May 29, 2025 0

Nigeria has lost its long-standing title as Africa’s largest importer of refined petroleum pro...

READ ALSO
Economists Warn of Debt Sustainability Risks as Nigeria Eyes $24.14 Billion in Foreign Loans
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara May 28, 2025 0

Nigeria's public debt is poised for another substantial increase as President Bola Tinubu has sought...

READ ALSO
Nigeria's Solid Minerals Sector Attracts Over $800 Million in Investments Amid Policy Shift
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara May 25, 2025 0

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development,Dr Dele Alake announced that Nigeria attracted over $800...

READ ALSO
SNEPCo Urges Indigenous Firms to Enhance Skills for Future Opportunities
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara May 23, 2025 0

The Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) has urged Nigerian firms to st...

READ ALSO
JUST IN: Dangote refinery slashes petrol prices by N15 nationwide
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara May 22, 2025 0

LAGOS, Nigeria — The Dangote Petroleum Refinery recently announced a reduction in the pump pri...

READ ALSO
Sanwo-Olu Advocates for Innovation, Accountability in Economic Policies
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara May 22, 2025 0

LAGOS, Nigeria - Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has stated that Nigeria must hasten its pro...

READ ALSO
CBN's Rigid Monetary Policies Threaten Nigeria's Industrialization Efforts
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara May 22, 2025 0

With the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) keeping the benchmark interest rate at 27.5 percent, local ma...

READ ALSO
FG to Auction 753 Housing Units Recovered from Ex-CBN Governor Emefiele
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara May 20, 2025 0

ABUJA, Nigeria - The Federal Government has declared its intention to sell 753 housing units that we...

OUR CHANNELS:

NEMA Mobilizes Teams to 15 States Amid Flood Warnings
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 5, 2025 0

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has sent officials to 15 high-risk states to educate...


Edo Faces Diphtheria Outbreak, Two Confirmed Deaths
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 5, 2025 0

EDO, Nigeria (NAN) - A diphtheria outbreak has been confirmed in Edo State, resulting in two deaths....


Tinubu Honors Bill Gates with National Award for Global Philanthropy
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 5, 2025 0

LAGOS, Nigeria - President Bola Tinubu commended Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft and chairma...


Bahrain, Colombia, DRC, Latvia, and Liberia Join UN Security Council for 2026-2027 Term
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 5, 2025 0

The UN General Assembly on Tuesday elected five new non-permanent members to the UN Security Council...


Tinubu Orders Urgent Repairs on Flood-Damaged Bridge in Mokwa
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 5, 2025 0

NIGER, Nigeria (NAN)- President Bola Tinubu has instructed the Federal Ministry of Works to repair t...


Nigeria Needs ₦2.2 Trillion to Eliminate Cervical Cancer by 2030, Says Task Force Chair
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 5, 2025 0

ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria will need ₦2.2 trillion to roll out comprehensive cervical cancer ini...


EFCC Charges Two Men for Posing as Fake Sureties in Illegal Mining Case
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 4, 2025 0

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has charged two individuals, Shehu Abdu and Isah...


Court Sentence Scrap Seller to 12 Years for Sexual Assault of Four-Year-Old Girl
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 4, 2025 0

A scrap seller, Nasiru Usman, was sentenced to 12 years in prison by an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Do...


70-Year-Old Faces Manslaughter Charges After Fatal Accident
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 5, 2025 0

LAGOS, Nigeria - A 70-year-old man, Isiaka Afolayan, has been detained for careless driving and the...


Police Arrest 49 years old Suspect for Abduction of Two-Month-Old Baby
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 5, 2025 0

DELTA, Nigeria - The police in Delta reported the arrest of a suspect named Joy Temitope for the abd...


More Articles

Load more...

Menu