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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has warned that financial institutions promising easy loans and other financial products also easily run into trouble and run off with customers’ money.
The CBN issued the warning in Yola on Thursday barely a week after some financial institutions were shut down in Lagos following complaints from customers.
The apex bank, which held a public enlightenment programme termed CBN Fair, said although the institutions it regulates are robust and reliable, it could not say so for unregistered institutions.
The Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr Osita Nwanisobi, who represented the CBN Governor at the Fair holding simultaneously in Adamawa and Taraba States, stressed at the opening ceremony in Yola: “We are here to project our programmes and interventions and also to warn you against people who promise you unbelievable returns. Be careful of people offering easy loans. They entice you to take loans and then begin to harass you when you are unable to pay back.”
He added: “Nigerians should be mindful of unlicensed entities who claim to be selling financial products. We are telling people not to give their money to people who will use it to do kalokalo business and when it collapses they run away.
“We are saying when an entity is not licensed, do not patronise them. If you have doubt, we have a CBN branch here. Go to CBN and ask: this one, is it licensed? Is CBN supervising them? Do not be in a hurry to put your just anywhere.”
The CBN Fair in Yola and Jalingo attracted farmers, traders, civil servants, corps members, students and people from other strata of society for whom CBN designed interventions.
Some of the beneficiaries exhibited their products at Lalewa Hotel, the Yola venue of the CBN Fair.
CBN Director, Corporate Affairs, Osita Nwanisobi, addressing newsmen during CBN Fair in Yola
