By Dipo Olowookere
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has advised members of the public not to fall into the trap of some fraudulent Entrepreneurship Development Institutions (EDIs), which claim to know how to unsuspecting victims secure the AgriBusiness Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS) loan offered by the apex bank.
Director of Corporate Communications at the CBN, Mr Isaac Okorafor, in a statement on Wednesday, urged the public to always make efforts to make clarifications before taking any step.
Mr Okorafor said some of these firms come under the guise of offering trainings endorsed by the CBN, which he said are lies.
“These unaccredited bodies have continued to defraud and exploit members of the public by advertising for courses and charging training fees ranging on the pretext that the training is endorsed by the CBN and therefore would guarantee easy access to AGSMEIS loans.
“The public is therefore advised to beware of the activities of these non-accredited private and public organisations, and report anyone or group that approaches them for these illegal and unauthorized trainings, to the law enforcement agencies,” the bank said.
The central bank noted that it has “neither appointed not accredited any organization to conduct any training on its behalf for the purpose of applying for AGSMEIS loans.”
“The public is also advised to contact the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on 07002255226 or send an email to [email protected] for any clarification,” the statement said.
