Beneficiaries complain as CBN moves to recover COVID-19 loans

GUARDIAN

 Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is set to recover loans it granted some Nigerians to ameliorate harsh socio-economic realities.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the loan initiative involved is the Targeted Credit Facilities (TCF), granted in 2020 to cushion the economic effect of COVID-19.

Some beneficiaries, however, expressed concern about the manner of recovery.

A beneficiary, Fatimah Alli, said the sudden move to recover her N500,000 loan has worsened her financial challenges.

“I got a loan of N500,000 in 2020 to cushion the economic effect of COVID-19.  But at that time, we were assured we would not be required to repay the money. Recently, all the money in my bank accounts was removed by the CBN as part of the loan recovery drive,” she said.

Another beneficiary, Abbas Sule, also complained about arbitrary loan deductions from his bank account.

He said: “When I was granted the loan facility in 2020, the bank official that processed the release through NIRSAL Microfinance Bank (NMFB) got a commission of N50,000, and I was paid N450,000. Now, they want me to repay N500,000. That is not fair.”