BoA Recovers Over N7bn Within Two Years, Says MD

• BoA Recovers Over N7bn Within Two Years, Says MD

The Management of the Bank of Agriculture on Thursday said it had recovered over N7bn so far from loan defaulters within two years.

The bank’s Managing Director, Alhaji Kabir Mohammed Adamu made this known at a meeting with the appointed financial advisors – Lead Capital Consortium saddled with the responsibility of restructuring and recapitalising the BOA, in Kaduna.

He said despite the myriad of challenges confronting the bank established in 1972 to provide credit to farmers, the bank still remained viable, solid and strong.

He listed the challenges confronting the bank to include staffing, lack of training of staff on modern agricultural finance system, debt recovery and infrastructural decay.

Adamu argued that despite all these, the current management of the bank was able to recover N7bn from loan defaulters.

The bank chief said: “If you look at the staffing position, the staff have not been trained in modern agric finance system. Therefore there will be need to do that.

“On strategic ground, the bank has six zonal offices in the six geopolitical zones and over 140 branches, and the focus of the branches is to support the small holder farmers.

“Another challenge facing the bank is that of recovery. In terms of value, we have recovered more than N7 billion as management upon resuming duty.

“Most of these challenges including I.T, infrastructure and what have you can only be implemented with funds and that is what brought about this exercise.”

On his part, the Managing Director, Lead Capital Consortium, Mr Wale Adewumi, said the group was passionate in the mandate to commence the process of restructuring and recapitalisation within 14 weeks.

He said the federal government would recapitalise the bank with N10bn and subsequently continue with public funding.

“The first funding will come from the Federal Government, and then the subsequent ones will be from the public.

“The objective of the gathering was that the consortium has been tasked to provide financial advice and policy options as well that will support the Federal Government of Nigeria, regarding the recapitalisation of the Bank of Agric and also ensuring good control is instituted in the Bank,” he added.