‘Who are the beneficiaries?’ — Obi asks DBN to publish list of N1trn MSME disbursement recipients

Obi

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, has questioned the Development Bank of Nigeria’s (DBN) claim that it has disbursed more than N1 trillion to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The former Anambra governor raised the concern in a post on his X handle on Wednesday.

Last week, DBN said it had disbursed over N1 trillion in “empowerment interventions” since 2015, with 62 per cent benefiting women.

Tony Okpanachi, managing director of DBN, said the initiative aims to improve women’s access to finance for MSMEs.

He was represented by Idris Salihu, the bank’s head of corporate services, at a women’s empowerment programme in Yola, Adamawa.

The DBN added that the training would equip them with knowledge and tools to transition from financial exclusion to financial inclusion.

But Obi claimed findings from his interactions showed that most business owners had no knowledge of the bank’s existence.

Obi noted that if the bank had indeed released over $1 billion into the MSME space in the form of small loans averaging $1,000, at least 1 million small businesses would have benefited.

“I recently read a report from the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) stating that it has disbursed over ₦1 trillion to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria since 2015. By simple conversion over the said period, this amounts to more than $1 billion,” Obi said.