Targets five million citizens in poverty reduction initiative

The Federal Government’s National Credit Guarantee Company (NCGC) has unlocked N46.95 billion in loans for 67,512 Nigerians and businesses within its first year of operation, President Bola Tinubu said yesterday.

In a message posted on his verified X handle, @officialABAT, the President said the performance underscored his administration’s push towards a credit-based economy where viable businesses and individuals could access financing despite limited collateral or credit history.

According to him, 11,374 beneficiaries are women, while 33.5 per cent, more than 22,000 borrowers, accessed formal credit for the first time. The scheme has reached beneficiaries across 25 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The businesses supported under the arrangement are also estimated to account for 661,291 direct and indirect jobs.

“When I sought your mandate, I promised to move Nigeria towards a credit-based economy and to establish a loan guarantee scheme that would help small businesses overcome the barriers that keep them from finance,” Tinubu said.

“A worker with access to credit can buy what the family needs and pay over time, and a small business can invest today against the income it expects tomorrow.”

The President said the NCGC was established to tackle one of the major barriers to business financing, lenders’ reluctance to extend credit to otherwise viable borrowers without sufficient collateral or established credit histories.

IN a similar development, the Federal Government has commenced another phase of its National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRDS) training and empowerment programme in Oyo State, targeting five million Nigerians for skills acquisition, entrepreneurship and technology-driven opportunities over the next four years.

Speaking yesterday in Ibadan at the commencement of the programme, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education (TVEE), Dr Abiola Arogundade, said the initiative was designed not only to train beneficiaries but also to connect them with opportunities that can generate sustainable income.

Arogundade said the programme, which started in the Federal Capital Territory before expanding to other states, was part of the Federal Government’s broader strategy to tackle poverty by equipping Nigerians with practical and marketable skills.

“What we want to do, and what the President wants to do, is to move as many people out of poverty as possible,” she said.

She disclosed that 200 people were undergoing training in Oyo, while 500 devices were being provided, bringing the number of people directly empowered under the current intervention to 700.

According to her, the impact is expected to extend beyond the direct beneficiaries through a multiplier effect, with participants encouraged to share the knowledge they acquire with others in their communities.

The 10-day training, which began yesterday, is scheduled to end on October 9, 2026, with Arogundade urging beneficiaries to take the sessions seriously and continue upgrading their skills after the programme.

She said beneficiaries should see themselves as potential agents of change rather than recipients of one-off government intervention.