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Bayelsa Govt pleads with public to patronize Izon-Ibe Micro-Finance Bank

Yenagoa—Bayelsa State Government has appealed to Bayelsans, the general public, government and private institutions alike to transact business with its own bank, Izon-Ibe Micro-Finance bank.

The state Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, made the plea on Monday at a meeting with local government council chairmen, labour unions and management of the bank in Government House, Yenagoa.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr Doubara Atasi, the Deputy Governor stated that the bank which was established by the seriake Dickson administration in 2015 was to encourage a saving culture as well as entrepreneurship and self-reliance.

Senator Ewhrudjakpo who explained that the establishment of the Bank was part of government’s rural development strategy, noted that the present administration had already released a grant of N200 million to strengthen the bank’s capital base.

while calling on traders, civil servants and retirees to make use of the state-owned financial institution,he assured that government would continue to give the bank all necessary support to enhance its viability.

Responding to the request by the bank to migrate salary accounts of local government workers, the deputy governor appealed for understanding and cooperation among all the stakeholders.

He said, “We are encouraged and motivated by the way the current management of our bank is thinking. And so, we need to do something not to allow our bank go down.

“Let us therefore put on our thinking caps and see how we can look at this issue because it has to do with our own survival. If Izon-Ibe Microfinance Bank survive beyond its current level, it is for our own good.”

Remarking seperatly, both the Chairman of Southern Ijaw, Chief Nigeria Kia and the Ekeremor and Kolokuma/Opokuma, Dr Perekeme Bertola and Chief Dengiye Ubarugu, commended the proposal of migrating council workers salary accounts to the IMFB.

They however expressed concerns for the banks’ ability to manage the salaries of over fifteen thousand council workers in the state.

Responding, the Chairman, Board of Directors, Izon-Ibe Microfinance Bank, Chief Ayakeme Whisky, said the bank had the capacity to provide banking services to local government workers across the state, including primary school teachers.

He assured that the bank would provide short-term facilities like salary advances and take the administration and servicing of existing loans procured by local government workers and teachers as soon as their accounts were migrated to IMFB

Also speaking, the Managing Director of IMFB, Nengi Rufus-Spiff, allayed the fears of the councils, stressing that with the current capital base and repositioning of the bank, there would not be shortage of cash for the payment of council workers’ salaries.

In their joint submission, the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) requested for time to enable them study the proposal.

The unions also urged the management of IMFB to engage with their members in an enlarged joint session to explain the services of the bank and its competence in running salary accounts.

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