From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Managing Director and CEO, Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP), Uzoma Nwagba, has highlighted the transformative role of Nigeria’s emerging credit infrastructure.
Addressing State House Correspondents, yesterday, in Abuja, he said: “Credit infrastructure is one of the key reasons why we were set up. The essence is for everyone to have a credit score. We are gathering comprehensive financial and non-financial data to develop a structural algorithm that will score every Nigerian.
“The credit score will be uniquely linked to each individual’s National Identification Number (NIN), creating a centralised credit bureau for the entire country. Whether you are a carpenter or a managing director of a company, there will be a score for you — and it will be on your NIN. There will be no hiding place for anyone again.”
Nwagba said the linkage of credit scores to the NIN has practical implications for Nigerians’ daily lives.
“If you want to rent a house, the landlord can ask for your credit score. Even informal money lenders will have access to this information. Everyone who extends credit will be required to report loan performance, so there will be a proper credit score for every Nigerian.”
More importantly, there will be consequences for loan defaulters, but these will be subtle and structured rather than predatory.
He said: “Maybe you want to renew your passport, but if something shows that you owe money somewhere, you may not be able to proceed. The same applies to renewing your driver’s licence or renting a house. There is no hiding place.
“This system ensures that whether your money is in a commercial bank, FinTech, or microfinance institution, loans taken and not repaid will be tracked and recoverable”, he said.
Nwagba stressed the economic importance of consumer credit, noting: “Consumer credit drives GDP growth worldwide. Nigeria needs about N180 trillion in credit to reach developed country levels. No government has that kind of money, so all financial institutions must commit to consumer credit. With the right infrastructure, lenders will be more relaxed and willing to provide loans, making credit more accessible.”
He also highlighted the role of the newly established Guarantee Company launched by President Tinubu in June: “The Guarantee Company allows financial institutions to share risks on loan portfolios. For example, if one bank’s portfolio is riskier, we can share the risk 60-40 or 50-50 based on delinquency. This will encourage more lending.”
Addressing concerns about safeguards, Nwagba assured: “As of today, CREDICORP has over 100,000 beneficiaries with zero non-performing loans. Financial institutions report NPLs between one and two percent, which is manageable. We are not an interventionist programme like the People’s Bank. We work through the financial system because that is where credit profiling and risk management belong.”
He concluded: “Our job is to sanitise the credit infrastructure, so more people can safely access credit. If we lose money, the programme will fail, and history will repeat itself. But, with these measures, things are getting better. There will be consequences for bad behaviour, and everyone will be tracked through their NIN. No hiding place again.”
Nwagba also disclosed that it has disbursed consumer-credit facilities to over 100,000 Nigerians, 35,000 of whom are civil servants. He added that CreditCorp has signed partnership agreements with 23 licensed financial institutions, with “hundreds more in the pipeline” to scale the National Consumer Credit Scheme.
“We got our funding a little over six months ago. As of today, we have signed on 23 financial institutions and delivered credit access to more than 100,000 people,” he stated, adding “Of that total, roughly 35,000 are federal and state civil servants.”
Nwagba hinted that early data show strong uptake for household goods, school fees and micro-enterprise equipment. He also highlighted the organisation’s efforts to integrate non-interest banking into its loan services to better serve Nigerians seeking Sharia-compliant financial products.
Nwagba explained, “In Nigeria, today, we have five non-interest banks practicing Sharia-compliant banking. Credit Corps has already on-boarded two of these banks and is working to bring in two more. The fifth non-interest bank was only licensed this year, so we are monitoring its performance before including it in our framework.”
He further elaborated on the importance of this initiative: “We developed our own non-interest banking framework, which allows us to work with these banks because we understand that a portion of Nigerians, including myself, want loans that don’t involve interest. These loans operate on Sharia-compliant products like murabaha and mudaraba, which are strictly compliant with Islamic finance principles.”
Nwagba reiterated that Credit Corps’ frameworks are designed to meet the needs of Nigerians seeking non-interest loan products for personal or productive use. He also mentioned a recent cultural reorientation event held in Kano, a city in northern Nigeria, where about 70 percent of the population is Muslim and practices non-interest banking.
“This event was possible because of the strong partnerships we have established with non-interest banks. Our goal is to improve the quality of life for Nigerians by providing financial services that align with their religious and cultural values,” Nwagba said.