President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has given marching order to Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP) to ensure return of Peugeot Automobile and Dunlop tyre to the country as Nigeria joins nations with credit facility for the purchase of brand new automobiles.

Managing Director/ CEO of CREDICORP Engr. Uzoma Nwagba, confirmed Tinubu’s directive to his agency yesterday at the launch and signing of Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) for N20 billion consumer credit fund for the purchase of locally assembled automobiles in Abuja between CREDICORP, NAMA and NADDC.

Nwagba said he had gone to brief the President on progress of the agency, with reference to N20 billion credit fund for purchase of locally assembled automobiles by Nigerians.

“The President told me: I want to see Peugeot, Dunlop and others come back to the country,” he quoted the president saying. He said CREDICORP was creating a scenario obtained in advanced countries where, people get car automobiles at a single – digit interest rate. CREDICORP for auto purchase will commence in January 2025.

Nwagba said his agency will engage automobile plants in the country working with the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), the Nigerian Automotive Manufacturers Association (NAMA) to drive down prices of vehicles at an affordable cost for Nigerians.

“We are trying to make the financing more available and more easily accessible. Meaning in terms of the rates also, to enable Nigerians have cheaper credits.

We work with financial institutions, and for this particular intervention, we are looking at going over time, targeting a single-digit rate to enable Nigerians to purchase these vehicles.

For people who have very strong credits, and who show a good credit history, the financial institutions are taking a bet and a confidence in them for those who are accessing our capital that we are providing, as well as those who are accessing our guarantees.

“We know that interest rates are quite high and is one of the discouraging factors and that is the economic reality of Nigeria; one that obviously makes it more difficult to access credit for mobility, is the high interest rates that we have now.

But given the mandate of Mr. President and his passion for enabling people to get cheaper credit to be able to access these life-enhancing goods, we are targeting lending on a single-digit interest rate. “But for now, you can see that our credit, enabling the banks and microfinance banks are the cheapest in the country.

So, it continues to go down as much as people show good credit history. And the fund that we are launching today is just a start. It’s a start to show a commitment to this industry. “It’s a start to show the commitment of the President.

And it’s a start to actually catalyse credits and allow people to access, get out of transport poverty. Transport poverty is a thing in Nigeria, where a lot of people, especially people in the cities, what you call the urban poor or urban middle class, struggle with access to good transportation,” he said.