FG to launch consumer credit, single-digit mortgage schemes

The Federal Government has announced plans to introduce a consumer credit funding programme and a single-digit mortgage scheme aimed at easing financial burdens on Nigerians.

The initiative was revealed by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Olawale Edun, during Access Bank’s Corporate Forum in Lagos on Thursday.

Edun stated, “Consumer credit is coming for Nigerians. It will be for the funding of manufacturing and sales of manufacturing products by giving people the opportunity to pay as they go, especially for more durable products.”

He stressed the government’s commitment to providing nearly single-digit interest rates for 25-year mortgages to stimulate the construction sector.

In addition to these financial initiatives, Edun noted the government’s collaboration with farmers, stating that 60,000 farmers would receive necessary resources, with results expected by early next year.

“This government may not be talking too much but we are working on so many things un­derground for the benefit of Ni­gerians. By next January, February, Nigerians will begin to see these harvests coming out. Things like cassava and tubers,” he said.

“Let me just emphasise once again, that all is being done to en­sure that the commitment of Mr. President to help the vulnerable, to provide them with direct trans­fers means that they can decide what is their priority, which is a very good way of intervening. As we found during COVID-19, there is the determination to succeed in that area.”

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Edun also noted that the country has seen a net inflow of $2.35 billion into the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) foreign reserves over the past seven months, which has contributed to the stability of the naira.

He said, “This uptick has been the case for the past sev­en months of the year 2024. We have relative currency stability. And of course, the all-important margin of the rates. We’ve seen a gradual elimination of multiple exchange rates. We also have foreign exchange liquidity. The gross reserves are up. There has been a net inflow in the first seven months of this year of about $2.35 billion every month.

“On the fiscal side as well, government revenues are grow­ing and the key to government revenue is not so much that the government has revenue to com­pete with the private sector.”

Looking ahead, Edun projected improved gross domestic product (GDP) growth for Nigeria by 2026, with an aim to increase crude oil production to two million barrels per day before the end of 2024.

He stressed that electricity tar­iff will remain above 200kwh in bands ‘A and B’; telecom tariff will increase substantially; there will be an efficient forex auction system; unencumbered foreign reserves will be at $20 billion; inflation will continue to decline to 22 per cent; and MPR will be reduced to 20 per cent per annum.

Economist Bismarck Rewane echoed these optimistic projections, forecasting a 3.5 per cent growth in the Nigerian economy by 2026. He anticipated ongoing reforms in tariffs, foreign exchange systems, and inflation rates.

Roosevelt Ogbonna, Managing Director of Access Bank, stressed the importance of understanding the government’s fiscal policy for businesses, stating, “Government is still a large part of our economic narrative.”