I’ve been trying to repay my COVID-19 NIRSAL loan without luck, beneficiary laments

Kayode Adegbola, lead advisor at Golborne Road Advisory and Legal Offices and a beneficiary of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) N50 billion targeted credit facility (TCF), says he has been unable to access information on how to repay the loan.

The N50 billion TCF was created to assist households and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Funds were disbursed to beneficiaries by the NISRAL Microfinance Bank (NFMB), an entity owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The loans were disbursed at an interest rate of five percent with a moratorium period that lasts till February 28, 2021.

At the expiration of the moratorium, the interest rate of the facility reverts to nine percent from March 1, 2021.

In a March 23 circular to deposit money banks and the general public, the CBN had said repayments of disbursed loans will be made in instalments.

The apex bank said the instalments will be repaid to the microfinance bank according to the nature of the enterprise and repayment schedule/work plan provided during the application process.

In a tweet on Thursday, Kayode wrote: “Earlier this year, my business got a federal government loan (via NIRSAL MFB) as a relief for COVID-19. I have been seeking information on how to begin to pay back but been unable to find it”.

https://twitter.com/kayodea/status/1329198620189618176?s=08

The loan amount for SMEs was determined by  the activity, cash flow and the industry or segment size of the beneficiary and subject to a maximum of N25 million, while households can access a maximum of N3 million.