The President of the Airport Fire Safety Cooperatives, Mr Richard Tella has said that close to 4,000 of its members have benefited from various types of loans from the cooperatives in the last one year.
The President of the Airport Fire Safety Cooperatives, Mr Richard Tella made this known in an interview with aviation correspondents in Lagos, while speaking on the activities of the cooperatives in aviation industry in Nigeria in the last one year.
He stated that close to 4,000 members of the cooperative had benefited in different ways with 6 per cent interest rate.
Tella also disclosed that the 6 per cent interest on the loan is redeemable within a period of 15 months, adding that it was a way of encouraging members of the cooperatives.
He lamented that the harsh economic situation has forced Nigerians to make cooperatives as their last resort, as it has become very cumbersome to get loans from the conventional banks.
Tella stated that mechanism had been put in place to checkmate the activities of loan defaulters as loans given out were deducted from source.
He expressed delight that the cooperatives has been able to assist members have their own houses at the cooperatives estates at OPIC and Iyana Iyesi in Ogun state, cars and businesses through the scheme.
According to him, “We bought new cars for members and two estates in Ogun State, we also have some block of flats at the police estate in Idimu in Lagos.”
Tella explained that as part of expansion of its scope and to increase its revenue generation, the cooperatives was making frantic effort to acquire some plots of land within the airport for the construction of guest houses in Lagos and Abuja, adding that it would be subsidised for members when operational.
He explained that the cooperative which was formed in 1996 with five members with N50 contribution each have risen to over 4,000 members, hoping that members would further get better service in 2016 by organising seminars for them on life after retirement.