Banks bar Ekiti workers from loans

– Owed several months, Ekiti workers are faced with
the refusal of banks to grant them loans henceforth
– The banks have complained that previous
beneficiaries have not been able to pay back since
they depend on government for salaries
– A source says Ekiti is not the only affected state
as other states owing their workers could also face
similar challenge
Banks in Ekiti state have stopped giving out loans to
workers following the inability of previous
beneficiaries to meet the payment plan.
File photo of protesting workers
Most of the beneficiaries are workers who are being
owed salaries for various months by the Governor
Ayodele Fayose administration.
The commercial banks have therefore decided to
place an embargo on lending to them, according to a
report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) which
quoted bank sources in Ado Ekiti.
The report said the granting of loans to workers was
stopped more than two months ago adding that “the
banks took the decision when it became apparent
that those with old loans could no longer fulfill their
monthly repayment obligations to their banks.”

NAN said further investigation revealed that some of
the banks have been finding it difficult to cope with
the situation, hence their decision to adopt the
strategy.
It also quoted some of the affected civil servants,
who did not want to be named, as confirming the
development.
The affected workers said their applications to banks
for top-up loans were declined while fresh
applications were left unattended to.

The report further quoted a staff of one of the first
generation banks as saying that the embargo was
from their corporate headquarters and that the
decision did not target Ekiti alone but other states
with records of backlog of unpaid salaries.
Only federal workers, private individuals, traders,
businessmen, contractors as well as artisans with
records of fidelity are currently qualified to obtain
loans, the report said.
It has been reported that the banks too are heavily
indebted. The federal government on Monday, May
30, made fresh moves to recover loans granted to
some of these commercial banks and other financial
organisations in the country.