Creditcorp okays 9% interest on CNG loans
Users of the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) are expected to secure credit facilities with interest rates as low as nine per cent from the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CreditCorp). The
Users of the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) are expected to secure credit facilities with interest rates as low as nine per cent from the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CreditCorp).
The Managing Director, Engr. Uzoma Nwagba told reporters in Abuja yesterday after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Moniepoint Microfinance Bank Ltd, National Credit Guarantee Company Limited (NCGC) and the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (Pi-CNG & EV).
The ceremony will kick off the next phase of the Nigeria’s clean mobility rollout.expected to culminate in the conversion of 100,000 CNG vehicles.
Asked to explain the terms of the MoU, he said: “With the Credit Corp facilities that we enable to financial institutions, we see our loans that go as low as nine per cent.”
Although it is now a common knowledge that the CNG is the cheapest fuel and the alternative to the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) subsidy removal, affording the cost for the conversion of the vehicles remains a major drawback.
With the MoU, CreditCorp is to provide consumer credit, enable the financial institutions to give consumer credit for people to afford things that radically improve their lives.
He said: “But the challenge still remains the affordability of the conversion up front, which is why all these partners have now come together to say, we are Credit Corp, we are here to provide consumer credit, enable the financial institutions to give consumer credit, for people to afford things that radically improve their lives.
“Energy costs and energy reduction is something that will radically improve your life.”
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He advised all transport workers in the country, especially those that are in organized associations, to pull their associations together and go through the PICNG process.
According to Nwagba, once they are organized, they will be given a conversion centre and it makes them eligible to access the loans for converting their vehicles.
He said: “And once we are on-boarded and you are given a conversion center, then you’ll be able to access the credits to convert your vehicle.”
Similarly, the PCNGI- EV chairman, Barrister Ismail Ahmed said anything that is not available is not cheap.
He stressed that in order to make the CNG constantly available the PCNGI- EV was signing the MoU with the partners to crash the cost of conversion in the country.
He said: “Anything that is not available is not cheap. The cost of conversion is always very high but with our collaboration we are bringing it down.”
Speaking with reporters, Ahmed revealed that there are 100,000 CNG kits readily available for deployment.
According to him, no matter the demand, the Initiative will be able to make further arrangements to meet up.
“Right now, immediately, we have 100,000 to deploy. No matter how many numbers that we have, we will be able to negotiate,” he said.
Ahmed disclosed that President Bola Tinubu has approved the reduction of import duty for electric vehicles to zero per cent to incentivize the market.
He said the PCNGI- EV is trying to get into a conversation with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited Retail to be able to set up charging stations in their filling and gas stations.
He added that REA is to provide the solar power for charging them.
Stressing that PCNGI- EV is ready to respond to whichever technology that emerges, he said: “But there is a new technology coming that I heard that there will be ability and opportunity to switch from PMS to electric vehicle. I haven’t seen that happen yet, but they are talking about it. We are talking with several partners.”
Meanwhile, the head of Commercial, Tosin Coker said by the end of this year, there will be CNG everywhere in all the states of the Federation.
The representative of Moniepoint, Tobi Amira said from the company’s data, the cost of transportation is the worst burden in the country, noting that a formidable partnership is needed to tackle it.
Assuring the partners that the money would return to the lender, the NCDC Managing Director, Bonaventure Okhaimo said the company has the mandate to provide guarantee for lenders’ confidence in order to unlock finances for the Medium and Small Micro Enterprises (MSMEs).
Represented by Prof. Tunji Oseni, he stressed that “We are standing between the CreditCorp and Moniepoint. And what that means is that we are assuring CreditCorp it is safe to do this. Give them the money. The money will come back.”
