The management of the Niger Delta Development Commission has
alerted members of the public, especially those in Bayelsa and Rivers states, of
the activities of scammers offering non-existent Agricultural Cooperative
loans.
The notice was sequel to several reports from some victims in Bayelsa State who were deceived into believing that the NDDC was currently running an Agricultural
Loan Scheme for which they are being asked to pay six thousand naira as
processing fees for the loans.
These criminals, who claim to be representing officials of the Agriculture and
Fisheries Directorate of the NDDC, according to a release from the commission, go to the length of demanding signed blank cheques from their victims.
The scammers must have taken
advantage of the promise made by the NDDC Acting Managing Director, Professor
Kemebradikumo Pondei, to promote agriculture in the Niger Delta region.
The NDDC boss had told Niger Delta
youths, who paid a solidarity visit to the Interim Management Committee, IMC,
at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt that the Commission was going to put
more efforts to make sure that people who were going into agriculture were
assisted and given the opportunity to succeed.
While the NDDC is still working out the details of the agricultural programme, scammers have gone to town to dupe some members of the
public.
“We advise those who have genuine businesses with the NDDC
to always cross-check their information at the Commission’s official website
and other social media handles.
We warn that anyone claiming to represent the NDDC or its
Chief Executive Officer in non-existent programmes must be treated as a
criminal and should be reported to security agencies for appropriate sanctions.
We assure members of the public that relevant security
agencies are already investigating the activities of the criminals behind the
fake loan offers”, the statement added.