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From: Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
About 5,968 rice farmers who collected different loans under the Anchor Borrowers programme of the Federal Government in Bagudu Local Government Area of Kebbi State are now on the run apparently to escape being apprehended by the recovery team.
The recovery team, led by Deputy Governor of Kebbi State, Col. Samaila Yobai Dabai, along Magistrate Mukhtar Tafiriki had, on Wednesday, visited Bagudu headquarters to compel the affected farmers repay their loans distributed to them for dry season rice farming in 2015.
But none of the farmers showed up except the Council’s executive and community leaders.
President Muhammadu Buhari had flag off the loan distribution of N15 billion but the recovery team had just gathered about N500 million since it started pressurise the concerned farmers.
It was gathered that rice farmers in all the six centers under the local government had refused to repay their loans.
Daily Sun learnt that in Bagudu Centre, 999 farmers benefited from the loan while in Zaggy Centre 1,364 farmers defaulted, 750 defaulted in Bahindi, 800 could not repay in Kaoje, while 1,000 in Illo and 1,020 defaulted in Lolo centres.
Expressing displeasure of the state government over the total default in the area, the deputy governor, in an interview with journalists, frowned at the level of response he got from the defaulting farmers.
“The level of responding was not encouraging,” he said.
