From Tom Garba, Yola
Governor Muhammadu Jibrilla Bindow of Adamawa State has declared that he would transform the socioeconomic status of Adamawa people through government- community participation.
Bindow vowed to revamp the economy activities of every community to cause greater development and transformation of the state, without which nothing meaningful could be achieved
The governor stated this when he graced the official commissioning of the corporate head office of BONGHE Microfinance Bank Nig. Ltd, Numan,Adamawa State. He lauded the community initiative of Bachama Chiefdom, comprising Numan and Lamurde Local government areas of the state for establishing the bank for the economic growth of the community.
While appealing to other communities in the state to emulate the initiative of Bachama Chiefdom, the governor declared that his government was ready to partner with the people toward the socioeconomic development and growth of their respective communities in particular and the state in general.
Chairman of the Micro finance, Chief L.D Nzadon, also lauded the cooperation and support accorded to the initiators by the community which has resulted in the success story of Bonghe Bank which graduated from a community bank to Micro-finance bank.
He disclosed that the bank was the first to become the first and only micro finance bank in Adamawa State to access Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) N220 million small and medium scale enterprises fund in November 2014 and April 2015.
According to him, the bank, which had existed since 1992, had, with the cooperation of the community, been able to meet the guidelines and conditions of the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) for the establishment of micro finance bank in Nigeria.
The bank, which was then known as Numan Community Bank Ltd, he said, was one of the first five community banks in the country to satisfy the conditions ,and its application was given provisional approval in February 2007 and final approval to operate as Micro finance bank in September 2007.
Nzadon added: “Since its conversion, the bank had continued to exhibit strong resilience to tough challenges which include economic, social and religious disturbances. This is in addition to climatic conditions like excessive rains that brought about floods and strong Harmattan.”
He said the bank was able to weather other socioeconomic and cultural storms, which included increased banditry and communal clashes, invasion of harmful insects and birds which destroyed agricultural products and the negative effects of insurgency.
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