Nigerian Concord Newspaper
The National Equity and Justice Movement, NEJM has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC to investigate the Senator representing Benue Northwest Senatorial Zone, Dr. Titus Zam over his direct involvement in the N250 million NANO business loan fraud.
The group in a press statement signed by its convener, Dr. Elias Okechukwu stated that the multimillionaire fraud was investigated by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Bank of Industry but the senator used his influence to carpet the outcome of the investigation.
The group confirmed that a top Director in the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has stated that the Benue senator fraudulently injected 5,000 names of fake recipients of the federal government sponsored NANO business loan while submitting details of his constituents for the offer.
Elias Okechukwu stated further that 5,000 out of all the names which the office of the senator submitted for the business loan early this year aren’t genuine business owners. “Their BVN and NIN were verified but further checks revealed that they aren’t genuine business owners” he stressed.
The Federal Government had few months ago announced its readiness to empower Nano business owners across the country.
The scheme which is N50,000 per beneficiary according to the federal government is to offer financial grants, without repayment obligations, to eligible small business owners operating in various sectors such as trading, food services, ICT, transportation, creatives and artisans.
The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment with the Bank of Industry as the executing agency that handled the scheme had explained that they targets 70 percent women and youth, 10 percent people with disabilities, five percent senior citizens and other demographics.
Meanwhile, Nigerian Concord Newspaper gathered from the ministry that out of the 48,000 names that came from the office of Senator Titus Zam for the NANO business loan, about 5,000 were fake.
“A sum of 250,000,000.00 that had been released to the fake 5000 recipients among the 48,000 recipients whose offers were facilitated by Senator Titus Zam has been subjected to a proper investigation by the ICPC” the director said.
All efforts to reach the senator on his mobile phone to react to the allegation proved abortive as he neither pick calls from our reporters nor respond to their text messages.
Recall that an anti corruption group had two months ago petitioned the EFCC, ICPC and the Senate Committee on public petitions to investigate a multi billionaire fraud done by Senator Titus Zam while he was the held of the Benue Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs between 2015 and 2018