Approach Loan Increment Plans With Caution – Expert

Following plans by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to increase its loanable funds to qualified oil and gas operators, a  financial expert, Mr Justice Eke, has called for caution towards such end.
He made the call in an exclusive interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt at the weekend.
Eke said if such development was not professionally guided, that it could lead to disaster.
The expert, who claimed over 20  years experience in the banking sector, noted that the move was an erudite one, given the present economic situation of the country.
It would be recalled that the NCDMB planned the increment under the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NIC Fund) from $100 million dollars to $200 million dollars.
The ex-bank staff, opined that the loan should not accommodate the oil and gas sector alone, but should extend to other areas like agriculture and other silent areas.
He argued that the oil and gas sector already has a roburst attention which has tinted development of other sectors.
According to him, the loanable fund can address the issues in the oil and gas sector such as the issue of refining and exportation,  which  could be beneficial to the country.
He reasoned that if the loan could not settle the challenges of refining petroleum products in Nigeria that it was not a good decision.
The Tide was further told that most petroleum products used in the country are imported as against the aim of local content development.
He also called on business operators in Nigeria to learn how to invest in the country so as to encourage local industry and factory development.