ACF wants FG to tackle ‘outrageous’ interest rates

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has expressed worry over what it described as “outrageous interest rates” Nigerians have continued to endure, stressing that the country’s economy may not experience real growth if access to reasonable credit remains blocked.

The ACF through its National Chairman, Audu Ogbe, said: “How can we continue to pay lip service to the vital issue of the growth of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and the prosperity of the younger generation if we make it impossible for them to access credit?”

Ogbe, in a statement commending President Muhammadu Buhari for his presentation of the budget estimates of the 2022 fiscal year, stated that the Forum was worried that no mention was made of the problem of interest rates. 

“For nearly three decades, we have endured the most outrageous interest rates that any developing country can endure,” he stated. 

The Forum cautioned that unless the government establishes a mechanism to deal with the current national tragedy where Nigerians have resolved to kidnapping as the fastest way to their personal economic recovery, the country’s economy cannot experience real growth.