FG to disburse ₦150bn grant to businesses in 774 local government areas as palliative

Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite has said that the Federal Government has confirmed it will start the disbursement of funds under its Presidential Palliative Programme aimed at easing the impact of the fuel subsidy removal. According to Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, the programmes consisted of the Presidential Conditional Grant Programme and the Presidential Palliative Loan Programme. The minister further said that under the Presidential Palliative Loan Programme, the sum of ₦150 billion would be shared among different businesses.

A breakdown of the amount showed micro, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises across various sectors would receive the sum of ₦75 billion, while manufacturers would receive ₦75 billion. The loan would be administered to the beneficiaries at a single-digit interest rate of nine per annum. For the Presidential Conditional Grant Programme, nano businesses across the 774 local government councils would benefit ₦50,000 each as grants from the FG. The statement further stated that MSMEs were eligible to access loan facilities up to ₦1 million with a repayment span of three years while manufacturers were eligible to get up to ₦1 billion to access financing for working capital with a repayment period of one year for working capital or five years for the purchase of machinery and equipment.

“The Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria will collaborate with state and local governments, federal legislators, federal ministers, banks and other stakeholders. Eligible nano business beneficiaries should be willing to provide proof of residential/business address in their local government area, and provide relevant personal and bank account information, including Bank Verification Number for identity verification.” the President Bola Tinubu, in a nationwide broadcast in July this year, had announced plans by his administration to inject funds into Nigeria’s SMEs. President Tinubu also said his administration would commence the payments between July 2023 and March 2024 to strengthen the manufacturing sector.