The President of Bauchi State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and agriculture (BACCIMA), Alh. Aminu Mohammed, has expressed skepticism that the State has expended the sum of N21 billion from the loanable amount to Farmers and business entrepreneurs provision of the Federal Government.
“The Federal government has been providing money to all CBN branches all over the federation to loan the money out to small scale and big time farmers, but that of Bauchi last year I was told when I became president of the chamber, I went to them to inquire, they said the sum of N21 billion was expended in the name of Bauchi.
The new Chamber of Commerce State President was speaking when he received in audience, officials of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) led by Ahmed Mohammed on a courtesy visit in his office to inquire about the agric loans being provided to the people, who have interest in farmin10.5g.
Mohammed, who also holds the traditional title of Dan-malikin Bauchi, however argued that its not the people of Bauchi that collected most of the agricultural loans, saying “Yes, the beneficiaries came from elsewhere. These are some of the things, there is collusion between the bankers because the money comes through the commercial banks, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the business community”.
“I don’t know what is wrong with us, Nigerians, Federal Government policies, irrespective of whoever was in charge, they are good, particularly for agriculture. What is bad is the implementation of those policies, and that is where you will hammer”, he told the Journalists.
Aminu alleged collusion between the CBN and the commercial banks through which the agric loans are made available to the beneficiaries, saying “Bauchi being an agrarian state, that is where farmers would be glad to be assisted”.
He, therefore, urged any potential beneficiary of such loans, including the journalists, to follow the appropriate procedure to obtain it, assuring of the Chamber’s support for follows- up, stressing that the main preoccupation of the chamber is to promote businesses in the country.
Alhaji Danmaliki, who is also the Proprietor of Malikiyya College of Health Sciences and Technology, Bauchi, expressed delight that members of the chapel visiting him to synergize and collaborate in economic diversification, apart from the Journalism work, encourage journalists in Nigeria to adopt economic diversification to complement their incomes.
“I am delighted to hear that you have taken serious steps to diversify. It is indeed good to diversify. If I had not diversified areas of work, maybe we wouldn’t have been sitting here. So, you have made a good decision.
“Whatever you are doing, get a second alternative, particularly the one that will bring fortune for you, because the situation as it is in Nigeria today, salary alone will not work, you have to get other means of survival.
“I wish you all the best in your efforts to diversify, some of you have taken into farming, which is good. I just don’t know what is wrong with us Nigerians, federal government policies irrespective of who was in-charge.