Birnin Kebbi
Governor Atiku Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi state has advised farmers who benefitted from ‘Anchor Borrower’ soft loan programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to payback what they owe, to ensure continuity.
The governor gave the advice in an interactive session with newsmen, after the independence broadcast to the people at the Government House, Birnin Kebbi.
Governor Bagudu, who denied knowledge of any farmer in detention in respect of the loan facility as reported, however explained that there was nothing wrong if any defaulting farmer was detained for failure to pay back what was owed because the money was meant to serve as soft financing and revolving facility.
“For anybody who does not to pay back the loan after harvest should be ready to face the wrath of the law,” he said.
According to him, the CBN has so far injected over N11 billion into the programme through the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and all loans were insured to avoid losses on the side of the benefitting farmers.
He thanked the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for assisting the state to boost its agricultural potentialities as well as serving as guarantor.
The governor further reiterated his administration’s commitment to accord priority to agriculture, noting that the partnership among Kebbi, Imo and Lagos states on rice cultivation has been very cordial, and called on any state wishing to partner with Kebbi in rice farming to show interest.
