Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, has questioned the Development Bank of Nigeria’s (DBN) claim that it has disbursed more than N1 trillion to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The former Anambra governor raised the concern in a post on his X handle on Wednesday.

Last week, DBN said it had disbursed over N1 trillion in “empowerment interventions” since 2015, with 62 per cent benefiting women.

Tony Okpanachi, managing director of DBN, said the initiative aims to improve women’s access to finance for MSMEs.

But Obi claimed findings from his interactions showed that most business owners had no knowledge of the bank’s existence.

Obi noted that if the bank had indeed released over $1 billion into the MSME space in the form of small loans averaging $1,000, at least 1 million small businesses would have benefited.

“I recently read a report from the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) stating that it has disbursed over ₦1 trillion to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria since 2015. By simple conversion over the said period, this amounts to more than $1 billion,” Obi said.

“I did not comment immediately on this claim because I wanted to investigate further, especially through my travels and contacts with small businesses across the country.

“The reality is that most of them are not even aware of any such disbursement, and over 80 per cent are unaware of the bank’s very existence; the level of knowledge about the existence and utility of such an institution is directly proportional to its impact on the people it is meant to serve.

“If indeed such an amount had been 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, with visible growth in enterprises, an improved economy, and measurable progress in lifting people out of poverty.”