By Adams Akorede
Pastor Dokun Olatunde, the Executive Programme Director SEAP microfinance bank has urged federal government to work at ensuring security to boost nation’s ailing economy.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Olatunde disclosed this on Thursday in Ibadan while speaking on his expectations from the second term tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari at the Mid-year Thanksgiving programme of SEAP Microfinance Bank.
He stated that the economy will only boom when there is peace and security, hence the need to ensure investors and entrepreneurs alike feel safe.
“Once the security is stabilized, the economy will be okay; this is an area of concern for investors, enough of banditry, kidnapping and other vices that have discolored Nigeria.
“Also, government policies should be friendlier for more investment to come in; another area the government needs to work on is the unregulated financial institutions that come to the market and destroy the market, there are many of such out there now.
“The review of the minimum capital requirement for microfinance bank in Nigeria by Central Bank of Nigeria is good but government policies should not kill regulated financial institutions but it should encourage it.
“As government is regulating there should also be support so that the regulated institutions can keep growing.
“This policy would help the banks to increase its liquidity, so as to support other businesses and move forward, but the economy as it is now is not strong enough for many microfinance institutions to key into the policy,” Olatunde said,
He noted that SEAP regardless of the Nigerian economy has been able to grow and expand, adding that good government policies in the years to come would further be a boost to its achievements.
“All I can continue to do is to thank and appreciate God for helping the company for the past 19 years of its existence.
“We have not stopped growing and impacting lives positively; we now have our branches in 26 states of the country with over 600,000 members and over a thousand staff, we are definitely contributing immensely to the economy of the nation, all these show the goodness of God.”
NAN
