Presidency: 40,000 civil servants to receive first tranche of consumer credit

The presidency says over 40,000 civil servants have applied in the initial phase of the consumer credit scheme and will receive the first tranche of payment in weeks.

On April 24, the federal government approved the takeoff of the first phase of the consumer credit scheme and launched a portal for Nigerians to apply.

The government said the scheme, which aims to broaden consumer credit availability, will be rolled out in phases, starting with civil servants, and then extended to the general public.

Uzoma Nwagba, chief executive officer (CEO) of Consumer Credit Corporation (CreditCorp), on May 15, said about 1.6 million Nigerians have applied for credit under its scheme.

In a statement on X on Thursday, Dada Olusegun, special assistant to President Bola Tinubu on social media, estimated that 500,000 Nigerians will have access to consumer credit by May 2025.

“Over 40,000 civil servants have applied in the initial phase and will receive the first tranche of payment in weeks,” Olusegun said.

“The first phase of the scheme is targeted at civil servants, and the next phase, the general population.

“By May 2025, it is conservatively estimated that 500,000 Nigerians will benefit from consumer credit access.”

According to Olusegun, about 150 banks, both money deposit and microfinance institutions, have expressed interest in being part of the ecosystem that is being created by CrediCorp to essentially undergird a national consumer credit system.

He also said CrediCorp is collaborating with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to efficiently link Nigerians’ national identification numbers (NINs) to a credit-scoring system.

Olusegun said the consumer credit scheme is conceived and designed to accelerate credit access to citizens in line with Tinubu’s vision of ensuring that every hardworking Nigerian enjoys a decent standard of living.