Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is visiting some states on Friday (today) to assess the progress recorded in the TraderMoni scheme in Enugu and Anambra states.
According to a statement on Friday by the VP’s Senior Special Assistant (Media & Publicity), Laolu Akande, Mr Osinbajo would also use the occasion to inspect ongoing works on the Second Niger Bridge.
TraderMoni is an empowerment scheme of the Federal Government created specifically for petty traders and artisans across Nigeria.
The Federal Government had promised to empower two million Nigerians through the financial scheme by granting loans to petty traders.
The scheme was launched under the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, GEEP, and government said it was designed to help petty traders to expand their trade with a collateral-free loan of at least N10,000, repayable within six months.
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However, DAILY NIGERIAN reports that there had been allegations and counter allegations that the scheme was geared towards wooing the electorate in the just concluded presidential elections.
The vice-president had at various occasions denied the allegation, saying that the program was aimed at empowering Nigerians in their various business indeavours.
Trader Moni is an initiative of the Federal Government, through Bank of Industry and Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme.
The programme is part of the Federal Government social intervention aimed at funding micro business in the country through soft loans beginning from N10, 000.
The programme was launched in August while the Vice-President began his tour in Osun State on September 3, 2018, barely three weeks to the Osun State governorship election.
At the first tour, Mr Osinbajo was accompanied to Iwo Market by the Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola; Dep. Governor of Osun State, Mrs Titilayo Laoye-Tomori; Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi; and other government officials.
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The exercise was immediately branded as voter inducement because of its timing.
The Vice-President further took the tour to Lagos markets in company with the then All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, and other APC stalwarts.
He visited over 20 states thereafter during the countdown to the polls.
Mr Osinbajo on some occasions combined his tour of markets with door-to-door campaigns where he met with people and asked them to vote for the APC.
Members of the opposition, as well as Transparency International, described the exercise as voter inducement.
The chairman of the anti-corruption organisation, Awwal Rafsanjani, noted that the initiative was an “official use of public funds in the name of TraderMoni to actually induce voters.”
He added, “It was not done three years ago. It was only started close to election time. So, the allegation by many Nigerians that this is clearly a case of vote buying using public funds goes contrary to our constitution and to have a free and fair election.
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