NICA confident of rebounds in Nigerian economy

By Motolani Oseni

Nigeria’s statutory body for the control, supervision and regulation of the credit management profession, the National Institute of Credit Administration (NICA), has said that individuals as well as businesses should brace up for a new economic dimension in the country.

In a statement issued by the CEO of NICA, Prof. Chris Onalo, he said, the economy will develop faster, as productivity will be increased in the country, adding that, the emergency of cottage industries, informal and below informal sectors, as well as small and medium enterprises as the mainstream of the economic will combine to define Nigeria’s new economic order.

Onalo encouraged a new economic dimension that will promote credit availability to individuals and businesses, to increase capacity for productivity in the economy.

He said, “In the new economic dimension, businesses should be driven strictly on credit. The new dispensation should promote buying and consumption that is strictly credit-driven. With credit availability, there will be an increase in production because the capacity to produce in large quantities will be boosted as the producers will have access to credit to expand their operations through a well-funded guarantee arrangement that will play the midwife role.

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“The new dispensation would enable access to credit from banks as lending institutions will be willing to give out financial assets to producers of those goods and products for people to buy using credit.”

Onalo explained that a national credit guarantee system that is fully funded by the government will help to promote credit accessibility.

However, he added, when individuals and businesses have access to credit, it should be welcomed with integrity and access to requisite personal and corporate credit information.

The professor of credit manager said: “On the part of Nigerians, it is not going to be business as usual. Track records relating to integrity and honesty will be the driving force in determining creditworthiness. So, if you don’t have good conduct to keep your revenue and source of income going, you will stagnate.

“A bad track record hinders access to buying on credit and paying from your income at the end of every month. But a good record track will help to stabilise workplace attitude in favour of productivity; it also stabilises family spending habits in terms of a steady stream of income coming in, so that families can plan their expenditure on what they want to buy, at what price and at what time.”