National Association of Micro-Finance Banks of Nigeria (NAMFBN) has faulted the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the alleged non-rendering of statutory accounts by over 50 percent of members of the association.
The association further said it was untrue the widely held view by some experts that the practitioners of the microfinance bank operators have deviated from the original objectives for which the Federal Government introduced microfinance banking in Nigeria.
The CBN had accused the MFBs of failure to render statutory monthly returns, adding that some of them were deviating from the original objectives by competing with the big banks and living flamboyant lifestyles.
Dr. Jasper F. Jumbo, NAMFBN chairman for South-South zone, said, contrary to the unfounded allegations that they are not rendering returns; most of the Microfinance Banks (MFBs) are making returns. "It is only recently that the CBN sent to us the standardized way of making returns. Most of the operators are well established individuals. It is not because you are investing your money in MFBs and you expect those operators who had their big cars to do away with them," he said.
According to him, ‘the question of returns is a continuous exercise, we have got over 40 members and we are educating them on the need for adequate returns. We can only operate within the state of the economy of the country’.
Earlier, Alhaji Abdulqadri Mijinyawa, the national president of NAMFBN, who read a communique at the end of the association’s National Executive Committee meeting, enjoined all MFB operators to register in their various areas of operation with the association.
While thanking the Federal Government on its laudable policies towards poverty alleviation in the country in line with the seven point agenda, appealed to all agencies of government responsible for poverty alleviation to patronize all MFBs spread across the country in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
The association was registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission as a replace of National Association of Community Banks (NACOBS) according to the communiqué jointly endorsed by the National President, Alhaji Abdulqadir Mijinyawa and the Secretary, Ubokutom Nyah.
