By Jabiru Hassan
An economic analyst and current affairs commentator, Malam Magaji Aminu, called on the Kano State government to probe and investigate all monetary transactions carried out by state-owned microfinance banks to ensure they are making a positive impact on the economic progress of citizens.
He made the call in an interview with journalists in Kano, adding that microfinance banks were established to improve the economic progress of the people and bring financial institutions closer to residents in both rural and urban areas, especially at present when the economic situation is changing gradually.
Malam Magaji noted that the Kano State government has made commendable efforts by establishing additional banks in the state to ensure that citizens benefit from soft loans to boost small and medium-scale trades, but some microfinance banks are not performing as expected.
“If you ask people about the services of Kano microfinance banks, many cannot give any solid answer. From what we observe, the banks have politicized their services to please politicians around their catchment areas. It is good for the Kano government to constitute a high-powered committee to investigate all microfinance banks so as to ensure they are put on the right track,” he added.
Nigerian NewsDirect had a chat with a senior staff member working with one of the Kano government-owned microfinance banks on condition of anonymity.
The staff member said, “Certainly, most of the microfinance banks worked outside the regulations introduced by the Kano government. If you trace the transactions, you will see that the majority of those who benefit from the loans are not the individuals recommended to receive them, so there is a great challenge in this regard.”
Our correspondent interviewed residents who applied for loans at the microfinance banks.
They informed Nigerian NewsDirect that they applied for small amounts for petty businesses in their communities, but the loans were never disbursed to them.
Instead, they witnessed top-ranking politicians sending kinsmen to collect the money for personal programs, which is a slap in the face to the recommendations of the microfinance banks.
The residents are therefore calling on the Kano State government to probe and investigate all monetary transactions carried out by all microfinance banks to ascertain their performance and conduct an onward review of their activities.