The Central of Nigeria (CBN) has asked rice farmers in Cross River State who benefited from the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme to pay back the loans they collected in order not to stall the programme in the state.
The CBN said it was making the call for the loan repayment so that other rice farmers in the state who have not benefited from the programme can also benefit.
However, the call from the CBN came amid claims by some rice farmers in the state that the loans allegedly given to them under the scheme was a farce, and can best be described as fraud.
Making the appeal for the payment of the anchor borrowers’ loan, the branch Controller of the CBN in the state, Mr. Chuks Sokari, while speaking at the commencement of the state 2019 Wet Season Rice Farming, said: “My colleagues from banks, NEXIM (Nigeria Export Import Bank), and former president of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RFAN) have emphasised the need for those who have benefited from the intervention by way of loans to repay. This is very important.
“It is not an endless thing, so the CBN needs you to reciprocate by paying back at least a maximum of percent single digit interest on every loan that you took; so, we expect that if you do that, we will reach out to the others who have not benefited, and they are so many, and we want to bring them on board.