By Lucky Oji
28 Micro Finance Banks partnering with the Delta Micro Credit Programme, have been assured of continuous patronage by the state government.

In a statement, the Executive Assistant to Governor Uduaghan on Micro Credit, Dr. Antonia Ashiedu, passed a vote of confidence on the banks and re-affirmed the state government’s readiness to stand by the micro-finance banks in the effort to bring banking closer to the grassroots level.

Dr. Ashiedu, commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for restoring the operational licences of Micro Finance Banks erroneously indicted. She said Micro-Finance Banks in Delta State are capable of meeting their financial obligations to their customers as stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the Delta State Micro Credit Programme (DMCP) and the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Scheme have agreed to expand their scope of cooperation to include Micro Insurance.

The concept, though new in the Insurance World, is geared towards inculcating the culture of insurance among Micro_Finance Banks in the state to mitigate against losses and enhance clients services delivery.

Head, Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Scheme, Delta State , Mrs Dernadette Nwaneri, who identified absence of proper management of risks associated with agricultural production as one of the major obstacles hindering sustainable food production in the country, expressed hope that the new frontier of cooperation will stimulate growth in the Microfinance banking sector.

Meanwhile, Executive Assistant to the Delta State Governor on Micro Credit, Dr. Antonia Ashiedu, has advised Co_operative societies to pool their resources together in order to consolidate on their numerical and financial strengths to overcome challenges pose by local, national and global economic problems.

She stated this in Asaba, during the World Cooperative Credit day celebration. She said co_operative societies being autonomous self_help groups, are germane to economic development of any nation. Dr. Ashiedu therefore appealed to government at all levels to support co_operative societies through the provision of sustainable credit facilities and financial policies that would enhance the real sector, particularly women.

Dr. Ashiedu, who gave the example of  the Delta Micro Credit Programme, where 81,324 have been empowered, with women making up of 49,682 persons of their figure, said women by virtue of their strategic roles within their cultural context, have been able to expand their income generating activities and enhance their welfare through self-help credit groups.