Born Olufemi Hakeem Gbajabiamila in 1962, Femi Gbajabiamila is a Nigerian lawyer and politician. Olufemi Gbajabiamila started his legal career at Bentley Edu & Co. in Lagos, before launching his own firm, Femi Gbaja & Co. He subsequently ventured into politics, formerly serving as a Member of the House of Representatives and currently serving as Chief of Staff to the Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.
Femi Gbajabiamila is the founding Chairman of the recently launched Consumer Credit Committee, the Nigerian government body that oversaw the rollout of the Consumer Credit Scheme. The scheme forms part of a raft of innovative measures implemented by President Bola Tinubu with the goal of facilitating purchases that are essential to enabling Nigerian citizens to pursue their aspirations, allowing them to access healthcare and education and facilitating the purchase of vehicles and homes.
In April 2024, President Tinubu approved the launch of the first phase of the Consumer Credit Scheme. Details of the scheme were shared in a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale.
The News Agency of Nigeria reported that the scheme would be managed by the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation – or CrediCorp as it is otherwise known. The scheme will enable Nigerians to enhance their quality of life by allowing them to access goods and services upfront, paying responsibly via instalments. In addition, the scheme will also help citizens to build their credit histories, unlocking still more opportunities to improve their quality of life while simultaneously increasing demand for services and goods that stimulate local industry, job creation and economic opportunities.
Chief Ajuri Ngelale related the President’s belief that hardworking Nigerians should have access to social mobility. The Consumer Credit Scheme will play an integral part in achieving this vision. Chief Ngelale explained that CrediCorp will achieve its mandate through three major frameworks, including strengthening credit reporting systems to ensure every economically active Nigerian citizen has a dependable credit score, facilitating increased access to consumer credit.
CrediCorp offers wholesale lending and credit guarantees, broadening access to credit for Nigerian consumers. Promoting responsible consumer credit as a means of achieving an improved standard of living, CrediCorp is pioneering a cultural shift toward financial responsibility and growth.
Chief Ngelale explained that, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to expand access to consumer credit, CrediCorp has also launched a portal for Nigerian consumers to express their interest in receiving credit. Chief Ngelale confirmed that the initiative, which was launched in collaboration with nationwide financial institutions and cooperatives, was created to broaden consumer credit availability. He indicated that Nigerians interested in receiving consumer credit could express their interest via the CrediCorp website.
Across the modern world today, consumer credit serves as the lifeblood of economies, enabling citizens to access goods and services upfront, paying responsibly over time and enhancing their quality of life. CrediCorp will achieve its mandate through a variety of different measures, including strengthening Nigeria’s credit-reporting systems, offering credit guarantees and wholesale lending, and promoting responsible consumer credit. The Consumer Credit Scheme will be rolled out across Nigeria in a series of stages, first being offered to members of the civil service before being expanded to include members of the public.
Increasing access to consumer credit has been hailed as a vital measure in hastening economic recovery in Nigeria. Long before Bola Tinubu was elected President, he was a major advocate of consumer credit, urging bankers to rethink consumer credit policies across the country. President Tinubu remains committed to removing all obstacles that impede economic recovery and the competitiveness of Nigeria’s business environment. In his New Year speech for 2024, President Tinubu pledged that his administration would deliver reforms to improve the lives of all Nigerians. Many experts believe that increasing access to consumer credit, enabling ordinary Nigerian citizens to access potentially life-changing financial services, marks a major milestone in that journey.
