Abuja – The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has directed aggrieved members of staff of the National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND) to immediately return to work following resolution of the organizatio’s internal crisis.
The directive is contained in a statement by Mr Salisu Dambatta, the Director of Information in the ministry and issued on Tuesday in Abuja.
It said that all members of staff of the organisation were to immediately return to their duty posts.
It recalled that staff of the Agency were directed to stay away from work in a circular signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Mahmoud Isa-Dutse on June 15.
The statement said that Isa-Dutse’s directive was to forestall further breakdown of law and order because of the ensued disputes between the Executive Management, Senior Management and other staff of the organisation.
The crisis followed the Federal Government’s planned merger of NERFUND with the Bank of Industry (BoI).
NERFUND was established in 1989 to provide medium to long-term financing to viable Small and Medium scale production enterprises to increase the quantity of goods and services available for local consumption and export.
Part of its objective is the provision of needed employment, expansion of production base and addition of value to the economy.
The Fund has so far extended credit facilities for 2, 829 projects valued at N9.5 billion between 1989 and 1999.
The statement added that all Nigerians were qualified to apply for NERFUND loans either as individuals, associations, cooperatives or corporate entities/partner institutions.
