Business
FG Recommits To MFBs’ Effectiveness
The Federal Government last Friday expressed its commitment towards enhancing the effectiveness of Micro Finance Banks (MFBs) in the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari, represented by the Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Mrs Aisha Abubakar, said this at the 2018 Micro Finance Banking Conference/Award Night held in Abuja.
The theme of the conference is: “Financial Inclusion for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Development in Nigeria: Making Microfinance Banking Work.”
Buhari said the government recognised the challenges of the microfinance sector and had come up with policies to ensure the growth of the sector.
“Government is providing an enabling environment through the ease of doing business which underscores the provision of one stop shop for this administration.
“Financial stability of the banking sector is very vital for every economy particularly for Nigeria’s emerging economy; therefore the supervision of MFBs is necessary to build confidence in the sector.
“The CBN is already working on this and stakeholders are urged to cooperate with CBN in this regulatory role.
“It is an established fact that the government alone cannot provide the needed infrastructure for microfinance banking, government however calls for stakeholder collaboration to achieve this,” he said.
Buhari commended the management of the National Association of Micro Finance Banks (NAMB) in its effort to provide funding for people at the grass root.
He said: “There is no gainsaying that MFBs contribution in rural areas will ensure financial inclusion, expand the market, revamp the moribund industries and increase the country’s GDP.
In his remark, the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, pledged the commitment of the National Assembly (NASS) to work with the association to contribute to national development.
Saraki was represented by Sen. Ibrahim Rafiu, Chairman Senate Committee on Banking and Currency.
He said the NASS recently passed several bills targeted at enhancing the effectiveness of MSME to access credit; this will ultimately help members of NAMB to improve their businesses.
Also Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State urged political leaders to support MSMEs in their various locations.
“We have put appropriate policies in place in my state, which have continued to yield positive results and I urge other political leaders to do same.
“We hope that in no distant time, MSME will be the engine of growth and financial inclusion in the country.
“I also appeal to stakeholders to create an enabling environment that will promote financial inclusion especially in the area of technology,” Akeredolu said.
Dr Uche Olowu, President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), said MFBs had a critical role to play for Nigeria to achieve financial inclusion.
Olowu said the MFBs were better positioned to deepen financial inclusion as they were closer to the grass root, thus, should be given the necessary support to be able to do so.
He advised the MFBs not to adopt the ways of the Deposit Money Banks, saying that if they did, it would not allow them achieve the purpose for which they were set up.
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has criticised Nigeria’s import ban on 25 categories of goods, claiming that the restrictions limit market access for American exporters.
This is the effect of President Donald Trump’s tariffs introduction on goods entering the United States, with Nigeria facing a 14 per cent duty.
The USTR highlighted the impact of Nigeria’s import ban on various sectors, particularly agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
The restrictions affect items such as beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and alcoholic beverages, which the United States sees as significant barriers to trade.
The agency argues that these limitations reduce export opportunities for United States businesses and lead to lost revenue.
“Nigeria’s import ban on 25 different product categories impacts United States exporters, particularly in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
“Restrictions on items like beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and spirits limit United States market access and reduce export opportunities.
“These policies create significant trade barriers that lead to lost revenue for United States businesses looking to expand in the Nigerian market”, the agency said .
In 2016, Nigeria implemented the ban on these 25 items as part of efforts to control imports and stimulate local production.
Some of the banned items include poultry, pork, refined vegetable oil, sugar, cocoa products, spaghetti, beer, and certain medicines.
On March 26, 2025, the Federal Government also announced plans to halt solar panel imports to encourage local manufacturing as part of its push for clean energy.
A leading agribusiness strategist and digital agriculture expert, Ayo Oluwa Okediji, has sought cooperative-driven investments in sustaining growth of poultry industry in Nigeria.
He said the poultry industry was at a defining moment and requires urgent structural reforms to secure its future and ensure long-term sustainability.
Speaking on the theme, “Strengthening Poultry Farming Through Cooperative Synergy and Strategic Investments”, at the recently concluded Oyo Mega Poultry Workshop 2025 in Ibadan, Okediji called on poultry farmers, cooperative leaders, financial institutions and policy makers to rethink the existing structure of the poultry sector.
He stressed the need to transition from fragmented, individually-driven operations to well-structured, cooperative-led enterprises capable of attracting sustainable financing and securing long-term viability.
He said, “Our poultry sector cannot thrive on individual effort alone. We need to organise ourselves into cooperative clusters, build strong governance systems and position ourselves to attract the level of investment needed to sustain this industry beyond this generation.”
Drawing on lessons from successful global cooperative models such as Rabobank in the Netherlands and Landus Cooperative in the United States, Okediji introduced the FarmClusters Poultry Model, a locally adapted solution developed by Agribusiness Dynamics Technology Limited (AgDyna), a subsidiary of AgroInfoTech Africa.
According to him, the model is currently being piloted in Oyo State in partnership with PANOY Agribusiness Limited and local poultry cooperatives.
The Rivers State Representative of the Nigeria Chambers of Commerce, Mines, Industries and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Erasmus Chukwundah, has urged palm oil farmers to consider hybrid seedlings for planting, if they must break even in palm oil business.
Chukwundah said this recently at the Free Oil Palm Business Climate Smart Best Management Practice/Assistance Training organized by Partnership Initiative In Niger Delta (PIND) for Palm Oil Farmers in Elele, Ikwerre Local Government Area.
The Rivers representative said until palm oil farmers begin to consider such hybrid oil palm seedlings, they may not meet up with the daily increasing demand of palm oil in the market.
According to him, the seedlings produce up to 30 bunches at once that ripen same time.
He said PIND decided to partner with Oil Palm Growers Association of Nigeria (OPGAN) to ensure that the message was received by the targeted audience.
According to him, palm oil remained a popular choice of industry operators as it could be converted to many other products such as vegetable cooking oil.
He also noted that products such as motor tyers, marine ropes and others are now gotten from the palm tree.
Chukwundah, who is the immediate past Director-General of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Mines, Industries, and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), further warned against use of unrecommended fertilisers in growing oil palms.
He noted that such practices could limit its export value or chances as the foreign marketers have a way of detecting such .
He reiterated the need for organic fertilizers, including poultry droppings, to enable them have a natural palm oil.
“People must reduce physical contact with palm oil production. That is why we are campaigning for hydrolic oil mills. The foreign markets are no longer interested in crude method of palm oil production”, he said.
Meanwhile, one of the farmers, Sonny Didia, who appreciated Chukwundah’s commitment towards the concern of farmers, appealed for an urgent need for loan opportunity with low interest rate in order to enable them beat the target.
King Onunwor