Nigeria Content Online

The
National Economic Council (NEC) has blamed banks in the country for the
inability of the Federal Government to disburse the N200 billion
agricultural credit loans for small and medium scale farmers in the
country.

The N200 billion
loan facility was approved in 2009 by the late Umaru Yar’Adua to help
small and medium scale farmers improve agricultural production and
guarantee food security in the country.

In his address to
journalists after the monthly NEC meeting at the Presidential Villa,
Abuja, Rotimi Amaechi, the governor of Rivers State, who was joined by
the governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako, and the Special Adviser
to the President on Millenium Developemnt goals, Amina Zubair, said out
of the N200 billion, only N70 billion has so far been disbursed.

Mr Amaechi said,
despite efforts made by the states to access the agricultural credit
facilities, the banks holding the funds have made it impossible for the
farmers to get the loan.

“N70 billion has
been disbursed, remaining N130 billion. A lot of the problems are
emanating from the banks, as most states that are being given their
ISPO are not able to access it for one reason or the other and that is
why a committee has been set up to look at what the problems are and
how to find a solution to ensure that forthwith we are moving forward
to achieve the objective of food security,” he said.

Easy disbursement

The committee will
be chaired by the Central Bank governor, Lamido Sanusi, with six state
governors, ministers of finance and agriculture as members and they
have also been mandated to work out the modalities for the easy
disbursement of the credit facility to the respective beneficiaries.

Mr Nyako said the
council also discussed the issue of who is entitled to hold official
and diplomatic passports, and directed the minister of foreign affairs
to conduct proper research to determine this.

“We also had a
presentation on the issue of the passport public officers will hold and
the category of persons that could hold them, the diplomatic status and
the official passport. After the presentation, we felt there was a need
for further studies. So we asked the minister to go back and do proper
research and work with the minister for foreign affairs and do a fresh
joint presentation at the next meeting,” he said.

He also disclosed that governors have been challenged to sell the
vision 2020 programme to all Nigerians and the international community,
with a view to educating them properly on the programme.