Benjamin Babine, Abuja
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has disclosed that it has extended the repayment moratorium granted to the One Local Government One Product (OLOP) beneficiaries, for another three months to one year.
The Director General, Dr Dikko Umaru Radda, who made this known through a press statement from the agency’s Corporate Affairs Department explained that the decision was made due to the current economic situation caused by the global pandemic.
Dr Radda said: “Conscious of the fact that the MSMEs are critical to the sustenance of the nations economy, the agency at the beginning of the year granted OLOP beneficiaries a -3 month Moratorium extension on their repayments. “After studying the current trends regarding the global pandemic as it has affected the country, management has agreed to further extend the moratorium to one year with effect from April this year.” He however urged participating Micro Finance Banks (MFBS) to take note for compliance with the latest directive. He however appealled to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to avail themselves of the CBN’s N50 billion COVID-19 intervention fund for the sub-sector and households.