The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Vice Chairman, South East, Dr Ijeoma Arodiogbu, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s consumer-credit reforms, describing the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CrediCorp) as a major intervention capable of expanding financial inclusion and helping working Nigerians cope with economic pressures.
In a statement issued in Awka, he said the initiative demonstrates the administration’s commitment to building an economy in which access to finance is not restricted to a small segment of the population.
“CrediCorp’s official mandate is to remove structural, market and policy barriers to consumer credit and accelerate access to credit for 50 percent of working Nigerians by 2030.
“Rather than operating primarily as a conventional retail lender, the corporation works to catalyse the credit market through capital, guarantees, partnerships and credit infrastructure, “ he stated.
According to Arodiogbu, the importance of CrediCorp goes beyond the amount of money disbursed.
He said its broader significance lies in developing a formal credit culture and infrastructure that can enable millions of Nigerians to access affordable financing responsibly.
He said responsible consumer credit can also support productivity when it enables workers, entrepreneurs and families to acquire productive or life-enhancing assets such as transportation, digital equipment, renewable-energy systems and housing-related improvements.
He said that CrediCorp should also be viewed within the broader economic strategy of the Tinubu administration, which seeks to strengthen domestic production, deepen financial inclusion and stimulate economic activity.
He noted that financing locally manufactured goods can create a multiplier effect: consumers gain access to essential products, manufacturers receive stronger demand, businesses expand production, and employment opportunities can increase.
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CrediCorp has specifically pursued initiatives designed to support locally assembled products. Its Youth Credit Initiative, for example, was designed to combine financial literacy with access to affordable credit, while its NYSC IGNITE component targets more than 400,000 corps members annually.
Arodiogbu said such programmes should be complemented by stronger financial literacy, consumer protection and responsible borrowing practices to ensure that increased access to credit translates into sustainable economic benefits rather than excessive household indebtedness.
Arodiogbu said the combination of consumer credit, housing finance, employment initiatives, skills development and support for domestic production represents a broader attempt to strengthen household economic resilience.
According to him, government interventions can achieve greater impact when citizens, financial institutions, manufacturers, entrepreneurs and development partners participate actively in the emerging economic ecosystem.
Arodiogbu maintained that CrediCorp represents more than a credit-disbursement programme, describing it as part of an institutional effort to change the structure of financial inclusion in Nigeria.
He said the long-term objective should be an economy where a worker with a verifiable income, a young entrepreneur with a viable business idea or a family seeking essential household assets can access transparent and affordable financing without being excluded by traditional barriers.
