The National Institute of Credit Administration (NICA) has warned that inadequate funding is slowing the implementation of the federal government’s ambitious plan to provide free credit management and financial literacy training to 10 million Nigerians, calling on banks, state governments and development partners to finance the nationwide initiative.
Registrar and chief executive officer of NICA, Prof. Chris Onalo, disclosed this in an interview in Lagos, saying the technical preparations for the programme had largely been completed but implementation was being held back by funding constraints.
The federal government in February signed an agreement with six professional bodies to deliver free financial literacy and inclusion training to 10 million Nigerians as part of efforts to deepen financial inclusion and improve credit culture nationwide.
The participating organisations include the National Institute of Credit Administration (NICA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), the Chartered Risk Management Institute and the Nigeria Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
The initiative is being coordinated by the Office of the Vice President.
According to Onalo, the participating professional bodies have already developed and submitted their training curricula, while a technical working committee is harmonising the content ahead of the programme’s rollout.
“The programme is on a sound course. The curricula are ready, the professional bodies are prepared, but funding remains the major challenge,” he said.
He described the initiative as one of the country’s largest financial education programmes, with women and youths identified as priority beneficiaries.
Onalo explained that the professional bodies lacked the financial resources required to execute a nationwide training programme of such magnitude and appealed to state governments, commercial banks, multinational companies and development partners to support the initiative financially.
“We are expected to travel across the country, engage communities physically and virtually, train participants in local languages where necessary and provide facilitators. All these require substantial funding,” he said.
He specifically urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to encourage or require banks to contribute to the programme, arguing that the financial sector would ultimately benefit from a population that is more financially literate and creditworthy.
“The CBN should encourage or even mandate banks to support this initiative because it will strengthen the lending ecosystem and improve borrower behaviour,” he said.
Onalo explained that NICA’s component of the programme would focus on promoting responsible borrowing, improving financial discipline and encouraging Nigerians to separate personal finances from business finances.
According to him, creditworthiness is determined not only by collateral but also by an individual’s financial behaviour, spending habits and willingness to honour financial obligations.
He disclosed that registration had already commenced through NICA’s online portal, with more than 1,000 Nigerians enrolling within weeks despite limited publicity.
He added that participants would be recruited through artisans’ groups, students, graduates, professionals, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), community associations, religious organisations, local government structures and social media platforms, while training would be delivered through a hybrid model combining virtual and physical sessions.
