NEW YORK–Nigerians in the U.S. are attempting to charter a credit union to serve their community.
The Nigerian community in the U.S. has embarked on the registration of members for its proposed Nigerian Federal Credit United Union in that country. During an organizing meeting at Nigerian House in New York, Consul General, Benayaogha Okonye, said a credit union for the Nigerian community is long overdue, according to Premium Times.
Okonye questioned why Nigerians in the U.S. have no such financial institution available to them despite their numerical strength, and he sought to allay fears of how long it might take to obtain a credit union charter, according to the publication.
“Nobody should be afraid of this project. It is something we have looked at. I have asked all the questions that need to be asked,” Okonye was quoted as saying. “We should know that the purpose is to empower and develop ourselves. Nobody within this system can be defrauded.”
What’s Required
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported regulations require a minimum of 3,000 members, among other conditions, to obtain a federal charter. The Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations and the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Americas (NIDOA) has endorsed the plan, according to the Premium Times.
Catherine Udida, the Minister Plenipotentiary, Second Committee of the mission, told the publication the initiative would help boost the profile of the Nigerian community, and that the Nigerian government has been seeking to harness the “enormous financial resources of the Diaspora community for national economic development.”
Udida added members of the steering committee must be “above board.”
“There must be transparency; you have to make sure you win the trust of Nigerians because this is a noble idea,’’ she told Premium Times.
The Objective
Organizers said “the credit union would provide Nigerians, young and old, men and women, businesses and organizations to have a community-based bank that will tend to our needs.”
In 2018, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi, inaugurated the steering committee at a conference hosted by the Nigerian Embassy in Washington.