Some leading banking and development experts have called on the federal government to involve microfinance banks in the disbursement of poverty alleviation funds.

The experts who spoke in Abuja said that involving the MFBs would help the government achieve the objectives of the poverty alleviation programmes.

The calls came on the heels of alleged abuses in the disbursement of poverty alleviation funds by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

The national chairman of the Bank Customers Association of Nigeria (BCAN), Uju Ogubunka, said microfinance banks would best disburse funds to the poor.

Ms Ogubunka, a former registrar of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), said the banks were better positioned to handle the financial services of poor people, especially in rural areas.

The president of the National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS), Ken Ukaoha, said the financial impropriety at the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation attested to deep-rooted corruption in the public service.

According to him, this should be frontally tackled by the relevant authorities to alleviate the country’s prevalent multidimensional poverty.

Mr Ukaoha said channelling social intervention funds through the microfinance banks would ensure transparency and accountability in the disbursements.

“MFBs are guided by monetary principles in all areas of their operations. More so, accessibility of the funds at the local level, where small-scale farmers predominantly operate, will be more guaranteed.

“The government should get the MFBs involved in getting these funds to the beneficiaries to achieve the goals of the programmes. This will also support these grassroots-oriented microlenders to grow in this very,” he said.

The chairman of the Association of Nigerian Exporters (ANE), Prince Joseph Idiong, said involving the microfinance banks in the disbursements was important considering their reach.

“I prefer the use of MFBs that have strong capitalisation, national or regional spread. State government-owned MFBs could also be used as the state governments can be held responsible,” he said.

A former national chairman of the Association of Small-Scale Agro-Producers in Nigeria (ASSAPIN), Amina Jubrin, said that the MFBs are best positioned to disburse these funds to achieve poverty alleviation efficiently.

(NAN)