The Presidency says Nigerians do not need a Permanent Voter Card (PVC) to have access to the N10,000 collateral-free loans of the Federal Government under the Trader Moni programme.

Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Mr Laolu Akande, made the clarification on Sunday in Abuja while giving an update on the microcredit scheme.

Against the backdrop of claims about PVC being a requirement for the loans, he explained that no documentation of any kind is required to qualify for the programme.

“The petty traders are not required to show PVC or any document for that matter,” Mr Akande said.

“They are only expected to show they are petty traders and this is why the enumeration is done in the markets and wherever the traders ply their trades.”

He said that the credit scheme was part of the Social Investment Programme of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

Mr Akande faulted those criticising the scheme, saying Buhari administration would intensify its efforts to empower more Nigerians economically as it continues to launch the programme to petty traders across the country.

Stressing that Trader Moni was conceived in 2016, he questioned, “Must we then suspend the empowerment of the traders just because some people will insinuate motivations?”

“The petty traders whose trades and lives are being positively impacted as they receive the N10,000 are telling a different story from those making political insinuations. And it is their stories that inspire us,” he said.

“Nigerians already know that the Buhari Administration is one that is projecting the interests of the common man, Nigerians who are at the lower rungs, and this is not a new perception at all.”

According to him, the scheme has already kicked off in Lagos, Kano, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Katsina, Osun and Kogi, as well as Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

Mr Akande disclosed that the scheme would be launched in Oyo, Cross Rivers, and Kaduna, among other states this week.

•Sourced from a Channels TV report