Buy now, pay later: 1.9m Nigerians applied to join consumer credit scheme – MD

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation, Uzoma Nwagba, has said that over one million Nigerians have submitted applications for the consumer credit scheme three weeks after its takeoff.

The credit scheme is aimed at working citizens to access loans for important purchases.

According to Nwagba, since the unveiling of the first phase in April by President Bola Tinubu, the volume of applications received so far has been overwhelming.

“It has been overwhelming. We didn’t expect the volume of applications or expressions of interest when we put out an EoI just like a week after I was appointed.

“As of today, we have about 1.6 million Nigerians who indicated interest, told us what they do, submitted their income information, and what they need credit for. We didn’t even expect that volume.

“So I think people have been listening to the utterances of the President and are quite expectant of this,” Nwagba  said during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday.

Speaking on his assignment, six weeks after his appointment, Nwagba said he was prepared to spearhead the current administration’s drive to broaden consumer credit availability for interested working Nigerians.

“It is our job and we are prepared to take a systematic approach to ensure that we continue to go through the demography of Nigeria,” he added.

According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, at its launch, the scheme is expected to achieve its mandate through the following,

“Strengthening Nigeria’s credit reporting systems, ensuring every economically active citizen has a dependable credit score. This score becomes personal equity they build, facilitating access to consumer credit.

” Offering credit guarantees and wholesale lending to financial institutions dedicated to broadening consumer credit access today.

“Promoting responsible consumer credit as a pathway to an improved quality of life, fostering a cultural shift towards growth and financial responsibility.”