Source: http://www.financialwatchngr.com/2017/03/01/boi-yes-p-participants-stage-nationwide-protest-next-week


Participants of Federal Government’s job creation programme, the Youths Entrepreneurship Support in collaboration with the Bank of Industry will on Monday March 6th stage a nationwide protest against what they called an impossible loan terms after about 11 months of training and processing of the loan.
The participants had earlier written a letter to the federal government to look into the unattainable loan terms by the bank of industry and proffer a solution so that can be able to start their various businesses but has since not gotten any feedback to that effect.
According to a source who is privy to the circumstances surrounding the programme, a protest will take place on Monday across all states demanding for the federal government and Bank of Industry to keep to their own end of the bargain.
Below is a copy of the letter as obtained by FINANCIAL WATCH:
His Excellency
President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
Aso Rock Villa
FCT-Abuja
Your Excellency Sir,
THE REQUIREMENT OF GUARANTORS AS A CONDITION PRECEDENT FOR SECURING THE YES-P LOANS:
A HUMBLE CALL FOR YOUR INTERVENTION
We the undersigned are participants of the Youth Entrepreneurship Support Programme (Yes-P) and we humbly write to call on Your Excellency’s intervention to modify some stringent requirements stipulated in the programme as condition precedents in securing the loans.
First, we seize this medium to appreciate your Excellency for the kindness, wisdom, and creativity that engineered the launch of the programme. The trainings have made tremendous impact on our entrepreneurial capacity and our lives in general. We are indeed grateful. And we pray that God will continue to bless Your Excellency, and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Your Excellency, it is our humble opinion that the programme has been excellently structured as to mode of application, timeline, and capacity building. We acknowledge the tremendous efforts your administration has put so far into the programme to ensure that the socio-economic benefits are realized. On our part, we have pursued the ideals this programme seeks to achieve with the resilience and tenacity that it deserves.
Your Excellency, despite the excellent scenario painted above, there is one hurdle which we humbly opine to be insurmountable, that is stipulated as a condition precedent for obtaining the loan. If this condition is not reviewed, it will lead to a failure of the entire programme. One of the condition precedents for an approval of a loan application pursuant to the YES Programme is the provision by the applicant of two (2) guarantors. Each guarantor is to amongst other things fill the attached assets declaration form; undertake not to diminish or whittle down the assets so declared until the loan is repaid by the YES Applicant as well as supply personal details including his Bank Verification Number (BVN). Further to this, each of the guarantor’s assets must be equal to or above the loan sum the applicant is seeking to secure from the bank.
It is trite that a guarantor is regarded as a debtor to the lender. And this position is clearly stated in clauses in the guarantor’s form provided by the bank. For instance, clause 2 of the Guarantee Covenant in the attached Guarantor’s from reads:
That I shall make good on demand any default on the part of the BORROWER or its heirs, legal representatives and assigns in the payment of the guaranteed sum as specified in the Loan Agreement and to the account or accounts specified in the demand.
Your Excellency, the guarantors’ requirement has made it near impossible thing for us to obtain the loan. We have toiled and laboured, combing everywhere for guarantors without success. The persons who we meet are unwillingly to guarantee the repayment of a loan by a third party, not to talk of declaring and staking their assets. From the available statistics 97% (ninety-seven percent) of us will not be able to find guarantors. It is based on this predicament that we pray your good offices to intervene by modifying the loan conditions.
Having come this far, we are already partners with the Federal Government as well as the bank. We understand the critical issues of: the unemployment problem the programme is meant to reduce; the support of new and growing businesses through capacity building of the entrepreneurs, and helping them access funds in form of collateral free loans. We also understand the need for the repayment of these loans as the YES-P funds are revolving in nature. Armed with this understanding, we suggest with due respect the removal of the guarantor’s requirement to be replaced with the following means of securing repayment which in our opinion are more scalable:
1. Engagement of consultants for the participants during the loan term. These consultants are to provide mentorship and business advice to the participants from time to time.
2. Each participant is to file statement of account of his business with the bank on a monthly basis.
3. Refresher courses twice a year to be compulsorily attended by all participants during the course of the loan term. It will be a meeting of the participants with the bank, YES-P officials, and consultants to share ideas, discuss challenges in their businesses. It is also a forum for the participants to mutually motivate one another.
4. Promotions, endorsements and advertisements of the participant’s businesses by the Federal Government and the bank as much as possible from time to time.
We are not unaware of the fact that the above proposal will involve some resources on the part of the government. But as partners in progress with your administration, we are of the humble opinion that the above provides better options to legal means of securing repayment of the loans. Apart from the huge financial cost, an enforcement of the loan agreement through legal mechanism is adversarial. We feel legal methods for repayment will deter many persons from participating in the programme in the future.
Another advantage the alternatives suggested by us have over the guarantor’s requirement is: they align more with the ideals of the programme. Guarantorship is not a guarantee for business success. It only guarantees the bank persons to hold responsible for repayment of the loan in case of inability to pay back by the borrower. In which case, the guarantor’s requirement is the bank-centric and not the participant-centric. The success of the businesses should take precedence over the need for repayment. This is because it is only when the businesses succeed that the policy will be realized. Again, the success of the businesses will mean a repayment of the loans since the businesses have been put under serious monitoring by the bank.
With utmost humility, Your Excellency, we have been trained both online and in class by very prestigious institutes and seasoned resource persons. We have put in commitment into these trainings. Some of us in the Boko Haram devastated North East had to travel to other states to access internet facilities in order to participate in the online training. During the online training, we did continuous assessments, wrote exams and submitted assignments. During the in class training most of us had to travel from far to the venues, lodged in hotels and incurred other expenses. There were sick persons, pregnant women as well as nursing mothers among us who made it to the training venues despite the odds. We have been relentlessly committed to the success of this programme. These trainings have without argument prepared us with skills to succeed in our respective businesses. We are confident that we are a new breed of creative and intelligent entrepreneurs with the capacity of revolutionizing our various business spheres. With what has been put into us we can change this country, Africa, and the world at large.
Your Excellency, during the advertisement for the programme, we were informed that our NYSC discharge certificates as well as those of our University or Polytechnic (as the case may be) will serve as the collaterals for the loan. Upon approval of our applications, we are to deposit the original copies of the said certificates with the bank. We feel there is no greater security against defaulting than this requirement. Someone who has burnt the midnight candle in our ivory towers and obtained a degree will not want such a degree to be lost to a bank loan. He will work hard to repay the loan in order to reclaim his certificates. We the young entrepreneurs are willing to put at stake our invaluable certificates in order to contribute our quota to achieving this administration’s recovery plan of taking Nigeria out of recession, and to continually grow the economy. And this can only be achieved through ease in accessing finance and the right support. Your Excellency, if the participants of this programme (in cohorts 1 & 2) are able to access the loans more than 3,000 enterprises will be established across the nation, which in turn will create a minimum of 12,000 direct and 60,000 indirect jobs, totally 72,000 jobs annually.
Your Excellency, the last point we wish to respectfully raise is that about 1% of us have been able to provide guarantors have not heard anything from the bank since they did so. As at the time of transmitting this correspondence not one person among us has been able to secure the YES P loan. Due to this fact Your Excellency, we suggest that there should be a determine timeline for the loan approval and the names of the beneficiaries published in a national daily and/or official website. This will help track the progress of the programme. It will foster transparency thereby boosting the confidence of the general public on the programme.
In summary, we pray your Excellency to intervene by removing the guarantor’s requirement and undergird this programme with:

1. The Capacity building through trainings;
2. Continuous support for the participants during the course of the loan term through engagement of business consultants, promotions, refresher courses etc;
3. A lien and/or charge on the participant’s University Degree and NYSC discharge certificates.
4. A clear timeline for the loans approval and a publication of the names of the beneficiaries in a national daily and/or official website to foster transparency and to help track the progress of the programme.
We are grateful for the patience in reading through this letter.
Please accept our regards of the highest esteem.
God bless Your Excellency.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Yours faithfully.
FINANCIAL WATCH had earlier reported on the grievances expressed by the young entrepreneurs over their innability to secure the loan after spending so much time and money during the 4 month long training session after which the loan be disbursed.
The YES Programme is an initiative of the federal government and the Bank of Industry to tackling unemployment in the country which is expected to generate 36,000 jobs for the nation. The YES Programme is also part of the federal government’s drive and wealth creation programme which is aimed at addressing the malaise of youth unemployment.
The programme is targeted at young aspiring entrepreneurs within the age range of 18-35 years, who have a minimum educational qualification of Ordinary National Diploma (OND) or its equivalents.
Considering the hurdles standing in the way of these entrepreneurs, it is highly unlikely that the objective of this programme will be accomplished except the federal government steps in and help advice the bank of industry to soften the loan conditions.

Cc:lalasticlala, dominique, puskin, FOD, naijacutee

How much is the loan?

Nutase:
How much is the loan?

maximum of five million

The elites of this nation are failing the youths, even the government agencies are incompetent. This yesp programis the easiest way for the government to just employ over 30000 youths in a single year. The government is suppose to ensure the program achieve its aim.
I just tire for this country .
CC:
Lalasticlala
Seun
Mynd44
Dominique
Fynestboi
Tonyebarcanista
Jasysandra
Opharhe
Efewestern
Sanchez01
LordAdam
Izonpikin
PassingShot
Sarrki
Omenkalives

This protest must hold please!!!. Some sellout among us are already privately talking to me out of the protest. We need to let the whole country know what is going on about this scheme.