Maize Association of Nigeria, MAAN, has revealed that it is working with the State Security Service, SSS, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Nigerian Police to recover Anchor Borrowers Programme loans from its members.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday, at the end of a three-day meeting with state chairmen, zonal coordinators, and national officers, MAAN National President, Bello Abubakar, pledged full recovery of the loans, affirming that it is a revolving loan.
“The purpose of this press briefing is to inform the general public 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 program is a revolving loan due for full recovery, depending on the participants (farmers) for compliance. However, and unfortunately, there was a monumental disappointment,” adding that most of the participants/farmers thought that the loan was national cake.
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, in trying 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”.
He said 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.
The association urged the Federal Government to “create an enabling environment that will give smallholder farmers the opportunity to settle their outstanding loans, produce for domestic needs and exports.
It also appealed that commodity associations should be carried along in agricultural policies, while urging the government to show compassion to farmers in consideration of the unmitigated and debilitating factors making productive farming and harvest impossible.
MAAN also appealed to either waive or review downward the outstanding financial obligations of the association in the CBN/ABP programme.
They also commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration for its efforts in ensuring food security in Nigeria.
The association comprises all stakeholders in the maize value chain such as researchers, input suppliers, farmers, and the end-users.
