The Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation has unveiled a new initiative to empower corps members with access to single-digit interest loans of up to N200,000 under a programme dubbed “YouthCred.”

The scheme officially kicked off on Wednesday in Abuja with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Credicorp and the National Youth Service Corps.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Managing Director/CEO of Credicorp, Uzoma Nwagba, disclosed that N9bn has been earmarked for the first phase of the programme, targeting NYSC members nationwide.

He explained that the initiative goes beyond credit access, aiming to instill responsible borrowing habits and financial planning among young Nigerians.

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He said the programme is part of President Bola Tinubu’s consumer credit drive announced during his Democracy Day address on June 12.

“The heart of YouthCred is actually not just credit, but credit orientation that is teaching young Nigerians, especially as they are coming into the workforce, teaching them good credit habits, teaching them how to build a credit history, teaching them how to plan financially and borrow responsibly, and then ultimately also giving them credits that enables them to access goods and services,” he said.

Eligible corps members will be required to complete a brief digital credit education course before they can access the loans.

Those who repay promptly can gradually qualify for higher amounts, up to the N200,000 cap.

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The loans are expected to support a variety of needs including relocation, acquisition of work tools and devices, skills training or small-scale business funding.

Nwagba emphasised the strategic importance of the NYSC scheme to national development, describing it as a “national gold mine for credit reorientation.”

“Our first target for this is N9 billion. But like I said in the signing ceremony, the loans will grow, and the amounts will grow as the programme continues to gain adoption,” he added.

He urged beneficiaries to embrace the opportunity with discipline, stressing that repayment is vital to sustaining and expanding the scheme.

In his remarks, the Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Yusha’u Ahmed, who was represented by Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, hailed the initiative as “epoch-making,” praising Tinubu for prioritising Nigerian youths.

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The DG assured Credicorp of NYSC’s full cooperation, including the integration of credit education modules into orientation and training programmes.

He added that the programme would not only empower corps members during service but also prepare them for life afterward, creating a generation of financially literate, credit-worthy, and business-minded Nigerians.

He stated, “I am glad and I want to thank the MD/CEO of CrediCorps and his staff for this initiative and partnership. I particularly would like to appreciate His Excellency, Mr President, for having the Nigerian youths at heart and driving this initiative.

“It shows that Mr President is committed to this, and he’s passionate about this. We are glad that we are recognised at that level.”

No fewer than 24,000 Nigerians were declared missing by their families, according to International Committee of the Red Cross data.

An ICRC Protection of Family Links Team Leader, María Toscano, who made this known at a media workshop in Maiduguri on Wednesday said the international body was still on their trace.

The diplomat said Borno had the highest number of missing persons, with about 9,000 out of the 16,000 registered by ICRC in the north-east.

According to her, 11 persons have so far been reunited with their families this year, in addition to the 13 persons who have been reintegrated with their families in 2024.

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Toscano said of the 24,000 registered missing persons, 71 per cent of the incidents occurred from 2014 to 2015, adding that Bama Local Government Area of Borno had the highest caseload of about 5,000 missing persons.

The diplomat also said 65 per cent of those missing in the north-east were children at the time they were missing.

Toscano, however, identified a lack of access to conflict-affected areas and difficulties in contacting families, among their challenges.

Earlier, the Head of ICRC sub-delegation in Maiduguri, Diana Japaridze, expressed concern over the Increasing rate of missing persons and families who were yet to be reunited after suffering displacement due to armed conflict for over a decade.

READ ALSO:ICRC Warns Of Rising Malnutrition As North-East Faces Food Shortages

“Some people spend years searching for loved ones, often with no result. Families have a right to know their fate.

“In the chaos of armed conflict, situations of violence and disasters, families can become separated in a matter of minutes, creating anguish and vulnerability and sometimes leading to long years of uncertainty about the fate of children, spouses or parents,” she said.

Japaridze urged media practitioners to contribute to awareness creation and draw the public’s attention to the needs of missing persons.

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“While States should raise public awareness of the problem of missing persons as a fundamental concern of international humanitarian law and human rights law, the mass media must draw the public’s attention to this problem and the needs of families of missing persons.

“We hope the knowledge and discussions we are going to share and have during the training will help you, the media professionals, research on the topic more deeply, ask better questions, write quality content, and thus report it in a more professional, unbiased, and empathetic manner,” she said.

NAN

The Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services and Water Resources in Lagos State, Mahmood Adegbite, has said that people drilling borehole in the Lekki axis of the state is probably drinking ‘’shit water.”

While speaking at a stakeholders meeting in the state recently, Adegbite noted that contaminated boreholes in Lekki pose health risk and added that treatment of waste water would eradicate any form of disease that may arise from it.

He said, “On waste water treatment, I will say that everyone digging borehole within the Lekki axis is probably drinking what I will call ‘shit water.’

“However, if we are able to treat all the waste water within this axis which we have plans for, we should be able to also eradicate any form of disease that might result as result of non-treatment of our waste”

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He added that the government still has a lot to do to tackle flooding in the state, saying, “Yesterday, it rained heavily which is unusual because this is supposed to be August break. However, we started having it because of a lot of complex issues.

“Basically, in terms of flooding, despite the fact that we have committed so much, however, we still need a lot to do in that space.”

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