TheCable

The Bank of Industry (BoI) has signed an agreement with the ministry of finance to recover loans worth N17.5 billion owed by customers of the Nigeria Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND).

Mahmoud Dutse, permanent secretary, ministry of finance and Olukayode Pitan, managing director, BoI, signed the memorandum of understanding on Wednesday.

Commenting on the partnership and what it planned to achieve, Pitan said the bank would adopt all legal means available to recover the bad loans for the government.

“Part of what we signed today is that BoI will continue to manage NERFUND,” he said.

“That means that those who are owing NERFUND and also outstanding facilities that have put NERFUND into trouble, BoI will recover and make sure those loans are collected.

“This is to let people know, especially those owing NERFUND, to begin to come to the Bank of Industry for repayment.

“People took the money and refused to pay back, some had good reason but many did not.

“The money to be recovered now is about N17.5 billion and we will use all available means legally possible to recover the money.”

Dutse, while commending the BoI, emphasised the role the bank would play in NERFUND’s reformation.

“We have signed an agreement to formalise a relationship that will build between the federal ministry of finance and the Bank of Industry and the National Economic Reconstruction Fund,” he said.

“We had problems earlier on with NERFUND, serious industrial crisis between the staff and the management and we decided at some point to bring in the management team from the Bank of Industry to take over the management.

“So far they‘ve done an excellent job and we also want the Bank of Industry to render some services to NERFUND.”