CBN warns against fraudsters over N50bn Covid-19 facility

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Sunday warned the public against the activities of fraudsters over the N50 billion Covid-19 Targeted Credit Facility (TCF).

The CBN described as fraudulent the operations of a fraudulent twitter handle, @YusufPhilipYila, purported to belong to the Bank’s director, development finance department, Philip Yila Yusuf.

In a statement signed by Isaac Okorafor, CBN’s director of corporate communications, the impostor handle has been posting messages related to the Bank’s N50 billion Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) with the intent of wooing unsuspecting loan seekers and owners of small-scale businesses to enter into correspondence with the owner of the fake handle.

Okorafor warned unsuspecting meme era of the public not to have anything to don with the said phones handle. “Although the CBN, through the NIRSAL Microfinance Bank (NMFB), has indeed disbursed loans to successful beneficiaries under its COVID-19 Targeted Credit Facility, none of the Bank’s officials engages in direct interactions with prospective or successful applicants.

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“We therefore find it embarrassing that Yusuf has continued to be inundated with personal calls relating to messages from the impostor handle.”

“For the avoidance of doubt”, he continued, “our director, development finance department, Philip Yila Yusuf, does not currently own a twitter handle. Therefore, members of the public, particularly households, micro enterprises and owners of small and medium-scale businesses are advised to desist from interacting with the said handle: @YusufPhilipYila . The massages are fake and anyone who enters into correspondence with them does so at his or her own risk.”

He advised prospective applicants to approach the NIRSAL Microfinance Bank or the Central Bank branch nearest to them or tweet at @cenbank or @NirsalMFB for clarification on the procedure for accessing the TCF or any of the CBN-related loans.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.