Lagos, Nigeria | September 15, 2025 — The Chief Missioner of the Nasrul-Lahi-l-Fatih Society, NASFAT, Imam Abdul-Azeez Onike, has urged the Federal Government to consider religious sensitivities in the rollout of its ₦250 billion loan scheme for smallholder farmers.
Imam Onike noted that both Islam and Christianity discourage interest-based lending. He cautioned that attaching interest charges to empowerment programmes could exclude or alienate large segments of the population.
His remarks followed Vice President Kashim Shettima’s directive to the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit, PFSCU, to fast-track disbursement of the facility at a single-digit interest rate. The order was given during the sixth PFSCU Steering Committee meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday, September 11, 2025.
Quoting from the Qur’an, chapter two verse two hundred and seventy-five, the Book of Leviticus, chapter twenty-five verse thirty-six, and the Book of Ezekiel, chapter eighteen verse eight, Imam Onike warned that interest fosters exploitation, widens inequality, encourages unjust wealth accumulation, and undermines social stability.
He said, “Government must always be mindful of people’s faith when designing financial empowerment policies. Loans should be structured to avoid religious conflict and to promote fairness.”
The NASFAT leader called for a stakeholder forum where religious leaders could share ethical financing alternatives. He also commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for prioritizing farmers’ welfare, describing the loan initiative as a vital step toward addressing food insecurity.
