The Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN) says it is working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Department of State Services (DSS), and the Nigeria Police to recover Anchor Borrowers Programme loans from its members.
Its National President, Mr Bello Abubakar, said this at a news conference after a three-day meeting organised by the association in Abuja on Thursday.
The meeting includes association’s state chairmen, zonal coordinators, national officers, and other stakeholders in the maize value chain such as researchers, input suppliers, farmers, and the end users.
The MAAN boss said the purpose of the press briefing was to inform the general public on the efforts being made in recovering the Anchor Borrowers Programme loan given to the association from 2018 to 2021 for maize production,” he said.
“MAAN understands that the ABP/CBN programme is a revolving loan due for full recovery, depending on the participants (farmers) for compliance.
“Unfortunately, there was a monumental disappointment as most of the participants/farmers thought that the loan was national cake,” Abubakar said.
He said due to the recalcitrant attitude of the participants/farmers towards repayment of the loan, MAAN was constrained to write several demand letters to the defaulters as well as seek synergy with the law enforcement and anti-graft agencies like EFCC, DSS, and the Nigeria Police for assistance in line with Federal Government policies of loan recovery.
“It is most unfortunate that some of the participants/defaulters who tried to evade responsibility to both MAAN and the agencies in support of our loan recovery, took us to various courts for enforcement of their purported human rights which they claimed were violated.”
The MAAN president said the association took some of the defaulters to court for the recovery of the loan, and most of those cases are still pending in courts.”
He said insecurity is grossly affecting the association members, saying “some of our farms and farmers were burnt, kidnapped, and killed by bandits on the farms in Niger, Zamfara, Katsina, Borno, Yobe, Sokoto, Ondo, and Ekiti states.
According to him, flooding has also affected the farmers in Kogi, Benue, Cross River, Jigawa, Katsina, Taraba, Niger, Kebbi, and Kwara states, with drought threatening their members in Oyo, Kwara, Niger, Ondo, Ekiti, and Benue states.
Abubakar urged the Federal Government to create an enabling environment that would give smallholder farmers the opportunity to settle their outstanding loans, produce for domestic needs and exports.
According to him, government should show compassion to farmers in consideration of the unmitigated and debilitating factors making productive farming and harvest impossible.
The MAAN boss appealed to the government to either waive or review downward the outstanding financial obligations of the association in the CBN/ABP programme.
He commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for its efforts in ensuring food security in the country.