By Mary Agidi
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As part of government’s efforts to protect the citizens of the state against financial scavengers, Popularly known as Wonder Banks’ a five-man Inter-Ministerial Committee has been inaugurated to look into the genuineness of the activities of three organisations.
These organisations claimed to be operating on behalf of World Bank through the Development Bank of Nigeria in Ondo state.
Inaugurating the committee, the Head of Service, HoS, Mr. Toyin Akinkuotu noted that the committee is to advise the state government and to determine the veracity of the claim of the organisations that the World Bank through the Development Bank of Nigeria would give out grants ranging from N3million to N10million to all registered applicants without collateral.
The committee has Mr. Gbenga Adelayi, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance as the chairman, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Justice, Cyril Akinrinsola, Esq. Mrs Ojolo, Permanent Secretary Public and Inter-Governmental Relations, Mr. Olaolu Akindolire, Ondo State Accountant General and Mr. Joshua Folayemi, General Manager Micro-Credit Agency as the Secretary.
The HoS charged members of the committee to handle the task diligently by verifying the structure of the Model Micro-Finance Banks designed by these three organizations on how they operate under their own credit scheme as against the conventional Micro-Finance Banks, licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Akinkuotu urged the committee to determine the true relationship between the three organisations on the one hand, Development Bank of Nigeria and the World Bank on the other hand, on the disbursement of their interest free loans to the people of the state as they claimed.
In his response, the chairman of the committee, Adelayi thanked the Governor for the assignment given to them and promised that the committee would deliver on the mandate.
The chairman of the fact finding committee said it is important for the government to protect the interest of its citizens against Shylock and financial scavengers.
The committee however has two weeks to submit its findings .
