Concerns have emerged over the Cross River State Youth Empowerment Scheme following a requirement for applicants to pay a ₦13,000 registration fee, a move critics say could generate hundreds of millions of naira from young people seeking access to loans of up to ₦5 million.
Criticising the move, citizen Agba Jalingo, in a Facebook post on Thursday, said the scheme was funded with public money and should not impose financial barriers on applicants it was meant to support.
“The Cross River State Youth Empowerment Scheme is a program funded with Cross River State money. It is meant to provide empowerment for young people in the State, devoid of the encumbrances that private and corporate business owners often lay out to militate the ambitions of young people,” Jalingo wrote.
Earlier, a statement from the Chairman of the scheme, Kalita Joe Aruku, had invited young people in the state with genuine businesses in need of scaling to apply for loans of up to ₦5 million. Interested applicants were asked to appear at designated venues in Calabar, Ikom and Ogoja on January 7, 2026. The scheme is being implemented in collaboration with Bank of Industry and Zenith Bank Plc.
Reacting to details in the statement, Jalingo said one requirement stood out. “What caught my attention in the statement that was sent out is the requirement number 6. Amongst others, applicants are asked to come with a N13,000 Registration Fee for ‘Search and Customized ATM,’” he stated.
He explained his concern by drawing from previous experiences handling government-supported intervention programmes. According to him, when he coordinated the #JariBurs initiative, which distributed bursary funds to students in Cross River North Senatorial District, the response was massive.
“When yours sincerely handled the #JariBurs initiative which distributed bursary funds to students in Cross River North Senatorial district, in the first 24 hours that we opened the application portal, we got over 11,000 applications and the number kept sky rocketing till the last day,” he said.
Jalingo added that some individuals involved in the process advised him to introduce paid forms. “Several persons working with Sen Jarigbe Agom who provided the funding, called yours sincerely on phone and tutored me on the need to sell forms for registration and make money off the scheme,” he wrote.
He disclosed that calculations were made on how much could be generated. “Their calculation was that if we sold forms at N5000 each to the 11,000 initial applicants, we would make 55million Naira and if we sold the forms for N2000, we would make N22million. But I politely declined and explained the kernel of the bursary initiative to them,” he said.
According to him, the same pressure surfaced during another intervention. “The same thing happened with the Senator Owan Enoh MSME Support Program, which I also handled. We had over 40 thousand applicants in the first phase,” Jalingo stated.
He said proposals were again made to charge applicants. “Their calculation was that if we sell forms to the 40 thousand applicants at N2000, we will get N80 million to share and if we sell the forms for N5000, we will have 200 million Naira, to share,” he wrote.
Jalingo said he refused on ethical grounds. “My position has always been that, since these funds are not from a business venture capital, I will not be party to exploiting the desperation of our people who are seeking assistance to enrich myself, regardless of the fact that I need money myself,” he added.
He warned that charging fees has become a pattern in public programmes. “I have followed carefully since the last administration up to this one, how several schemes and initiatives proposed by government are used to scam desperate citizens who are merely seeking help for survival, through purchase of forms and registration fees,” Jalingo wrote.
He added that in many cases, applicants receive nothing. “In most cases, none or most of those who pay are not given anything at the end and they usually have no case to make. The target is usually to amass the money and share it amongst those coordinating,” he said.
Questioning the current scheme, Jalingo asked, “If not, why will a scheme funded with Cross River State government money, ask applicants to pay N13,000 registration fee for ‘Search and Customized ATM?’ If after paying, the applicant is not able to get the loan, will the money be refunded?”
He further highlighted the possible scale of funds involved. “Imagine the tens of thousands of young people that will register and how much will be available to share. Even if only 20,000 youths register, the coordinators will have N260million to share amongst themselves,” he said.
Jalingo also challenged the justification for the amount. “Even if the partnering commercial bank makes that registration a requirement, the Scheme can and should take up that payment for the applicants,” he stated.
He noted that banks charge far less for similar services. “Almost all banks in Nigeria charge only N1000 for the issuance of Naira ATM cards. Even commercial banks do not collect loan processing fees upfront. That’s a red flag,” he said.
He added that credit checks are cheaper. “The major credit search bureau in the country, CRC Credit Bureau, offers individual credit scores at N400 and full reports at 5,000 for customers to search themselves, which banks also pay for. So what is the merit of the N13,000?”
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