Nigeria will require over N183 trillion in credit to successfully develop the nation towards an efficient consumer credit facility, according to Uzoma Nwagba, Managing Director of the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation, CREDICORP.
This comes as a federal government agency is considering a system that would compel citizens to link their credit scores to their National Identification Number (NIN) in order to be eligible for loans.
On Tuesday, Nwagba made this announcement, stating that the policy will create a centralized credit bureau for the entire nation and create an extensive database of Nigerian credit profiles.
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Speaking to reporters from the State House during the Presidential media team’s “Meet The Press” event, he clarified that associating credit scores with the NIN of prospective loan recipients will encourage them to repay.
All lenders would have to disclose loan repayments, according to CREDICORP, ensuring that every Nigerian keeps an accurate credit score.
He told reporters, “More importantly, there will be consequences for loan defaulters, but they will be structured and subtle rather than predatory.”
Perhaps you would like to renew your passport, but you might not be able to do so if it turns out that you owe money somewhere. This also holds true when renting a home or renewing your driver’s license. There is nowhere to hide.
“This system guarantees that loans taken out and not repaid will be tracked and recoverable, regardless of whether your money is in a commercial bank, FinTech, or microfinance institution.”
“Having a credit score is essential for everyone. In order to create a structural algorithm that will score every Nigerian, we are compiling extensive financial and non-financial data; nobody will be able to hide again.
