Former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has questioned the Development Bank of Nigeria’s (DBN) recent claim that it has disbursed over ₦1 trillion to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) since 2015.
In a statement, Obi said the figure, equivalent to more than $1 billion, ought to have created visible economic results if truly deployed to support small businesses. He argued that the reality on the ground shows otherwise, as unemployment remains high, businesses continue to struggle, and poverty deepens across the country.
“If indeed such an amount was deployed to support enterprises, the results should be evident. For instance, if $1 billion were disbursed in small loans averaging about $1,000 each, it could have supported at least 1 million small businesses. The ripple effect of this would have been no less than 3 million new jobs,” Obi said.
He noted that most small businesses he had interacted with across the country were unaware of DBN’s existence, let alone receiving loans. “Over 80% of SMEs do not even know such a bank exists. How can ₦1 trillion be disbursed and yet ordinary Nigerians feel no impact?” he queried.
Obi described the claim as “yet another round of grand deception, where scarce national resources are captured by a few elites and recycled under the guise of empowerment schemes.” He called for transparency, insisting that Nigerians deserve clear answers on who benefited from the funds, what businesses were created, and what measurable impact was achieved.
“Our people deserve evidence that such vast sums are being invested in their lives and future not lost to corruption or buried in empty statistics,” he said, adding that “a new Nigeria is possible” if transparency and accountability become national priorities.
