Ado chairman, Oche offers opportunity for indigenes to access CBN grants

Plans have been perfected by the Caretaker Chairman of Ado Local Government, Comrade James Oche, to embark on opening bank accounts for Indigenes of Ado in advancing the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) financial inclusion strategy that will make rural people eligible for opportunities of financial grants and loan facilities.

The chairman who stated this recently in Igumale during a press briefing on his rural transformation agenda explained that, strategic partners including the lead of the program (Central Bank) have been contacted and financial service outlets will soon be set up in all the districts of Ado to help the unbanked rural people own accounts to make them eligible for Government grants and loan facilities which he would personally pursue for his people.

To drive the Financial Inclusion program, the Council boss has appointed Oche Tony Onazi, Esq a human rights lawyer and policy expert to manage the program in a consultative role. Declaring the appointment the Chairman charged Onazi to liaise with the Central Bank team to ensure that the 6, 000 unbanked population of Ado Local Government own Account Number in the next two months.

The Chairman has also in a separate meeting engaged the Social Investment Program team in the Local Government. Receiving the team led b Mr. Godwin Gigi. Comrade Oche emphasized the need to execute the Financial Inclusion program which in his view will put the social investment programs of the Federal and State Government on fast track. The leader of the delegation of the Social Investment team of Ado, Mr. Godwin poured encomium on Comrade Oche and pledged to support his Financial Inclusion team with data at his disposal.

It is no longer news that, barely months to the 2020 target to reduce unbanked Nigerians to 20 per cent, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said the country’s unbanked population currently stands at 37 per cent from the 46 percent it used to be and has encouraged Local Governments especially to pick up the challenge of ensuring it’s unbanked population own accounts to benefit from rural grants that will be coming soon.

Hon. James Oche who is determined to put Ado on the map of local governments not just in Benue State but Nigeria has resolved to do all within his ability to move Ado forward.