Business
Co-Ordinator Charges Investors On Non-Oil Sector
The Raw Materials Research and Development Council,
(RMRDC), has challenged indeginous investors in the South-South geo-political
zone of the country to take advantage of
the abundant raw materials outside the
oil sector in their future investments.
Rivers
State Co-ordinator of the council, Mrs Felicia
Chilaka gave the advice on Monday
in Port Harcourt at a sensitisation programme organised by the Association of
Non-Bank Micro Finance Institutions of Nigeria (ANMFIN) for stakeholders in the
South-South.
Chilaka
regretted that the oil sector had blindfolded investors from other potentials
around us which if tapped could turn to goldmine.
“We
in South-South should look around us and
see other things apart from oil to invest”, she remarked.
She
said inspite of the fact that fine sand
was abundant in all parts of the zone,
we do not have any sand paper producing company in Nigeria such that all sand
papers used by huge wood industry in the country were being imported.
“Let
us think of those small things around us, nothing stops us from packaging
ordinary periwinkle and exporting them
to countries where they are needed”, she maintained.
National
President of ANMFIN, Hon Hamid Giwa Afolabi said the institution was set up to
promote the growth of microfinance institutions and to create an all-inclusive
and influential national network of financial institutions that provide quality and affordable microfinance services
to rural areas and low income people.
He
commended the Rivers State chapter of the body for its leading role
amongst other chapters in
the country, and urged the state government to assist the body in its plan to
develop a befitting secretariat and to
direct the 23 local government councils to stand for the
small farmers and traders seeking for loans from banks but have no collateral.
Afolabi
explained that microfinance if properly handled, could be a veritable
vehicle for poverty reduction in the
country.
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
