Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is visiting some states on Friday (today) to assess the progress recorded in the TraderMoni scheme.
He will also use the occasion to inspect ongoing works on the Second Niger Bridge.
He has touched down in Enugu, from where he will go to Anambra State.
This was revealed by the VP’s Senior Special Assistant (Media & Publicity), Mr. Laolu Akande, on Friday.
TraderMoni is an empowerment scheme of the Federal Government created specifically for petty traders and artisans across Nigeria.
The Federal Government had promised to empower two million Nigerians through the financial scheme by granting loans to petty traders.
The scheme was launched under the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, GEEP, and government said it was designed to help petty traders to expand their trade with a collateral-free loan of at least N10,000, repayable within six months.
The Vice President had, through a statement by Akande, promised last August that the two million mark was expected to be attained on or before the end of last year, with petty traders in Lagos, Kano and Abia states positioned as the first round of beneficiaries.
“In addition to the 30,000 loans to petty traders per state, states with larger populations like Lagos and Kano are expected to get more than 30,000 loans.
“Across the country, especially in the pilot states, about 500,000 potential beneficiaries have so far been enumerated,” the statement claimed.
Akande stated that beneficiaries of the scheme could get access to higher loan facilities ranging from N15,000 to N50,000 if they repay within the six-month window.
“TraderMoni was launched in partnership with the Bank of Industry in order to enlarge government’s financial inclusion agenda down to the grassroots, the bottom of the ladder, considering the contribution of petty traders to economic development,” the statement had said.
In the run-up to the 2019 presidential election, however, the opposition, especially the Peoples Democratic Party, had described the TraderMoni Scheme as a “bribe of the electorate.”
The Federal Government denied the allegation.
Punch