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Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area, Lagos State, has partnered a financial institution to grant loan of N100m to artisans and traders in the area.
The Chairman, Mr. Bolaji Muse-Ariyoh, said during a town hall meeting on Thursday that the gesture was part of the poverty alleviation and empowerment of the less-privileged in his domain.
He said the N100m loan would not be given to individuals directly but through associations for ease of repayment.
Muse-Ariyoh said, “In our domain, we have a lot of less-privileged. So, we have made poverty alleviation and empowerment our cardinal objective. We believe that this N100m loan will be a means to boost their income.
“We have decided that instead of giving our people fish, we will teach them how to fish. That is why we have decided to facilitate the granting of the loan to empower them. We encourage people who want to key into the programme to join an association and it must be registered with the LGA.”
He said the council and the consultants had been having a series of meetings with some financial houses until they picked the one that agreed to grant the loan at the rate of 17 per cent interest, with a tenor of between six and 18 months.
Senior Partner, Tridone Consulting, Mr. Mayowa Adebayo, said the company realised that one of the ways of reducing poverty was not by gift but by loans to make people serious.
“For the artisans, it is expected that the loan will be used to buy modern tools to grow their businesses,” Adebayo said.
He said the bank would start to disburse the loan soon, stressing that the 17 per cent interest was the best rate they could get anywhere.
Our correspondent observed that when the issue of the loan was put to vote at the meeting, the majority of the stakeholders agreed that the council should not back out of the loan, insisting that it would lift the economic conditions of the people.
Culled from The Punch Nigeria...
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Simply Cheska...
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