1. NICA CALLS ON NIGERIAN MEDIA TO EMBRACE SPECIALIZED CREDIT ECONOMY JOURNALISM AS A PATH TO NATIONAL GROWTH.

The National Institute of Credit Administration, (NICA), chartered, called on Nigerian media houses, editors, and journalists to begin an intentional shift toward specialized Credit Economy Journalism.

According to NICA, the time has come for the media to move beyond the limitations of traditional financial and business reporting to focus on the broader, more transformative realities of the credit-based economic model.

For decades, Nigeria’s economy has operated largely on a “cash and carry” basis. This model has excluded millions of Nigerians, slowed business expansion, weakened job creation, limited national productivity, and created a wide gap between the “haves and have nots”.

“The cash and carry economy is losing its negative grip on our people,” said NICA. The credit economy is far richer, broader, and more impactful. It is the engine that pulls everyone and everything into the basket of economic acceleration, business growth, social cohesion, job creation, and wealth building.

WHY CREDIT ECONOMY JOURNALISM MATTERS NOW

NICA noted that a credit-based economy directly impacts every sector of a country’s national life:

Economic Growth: Access to credit enables MSMEs, farmers, women, youths, graduates, artisans, and manufacturers to scale and contribute to GDP.
Job Creation: Credit fuels multifaceted enterprise, which in turn creates employment for Nigeria’s growing youth population.
Social Cohesion: When people can access housing, education, healthcare, and business financing on credit, inequality narrows and communities stabilize.
Wealth Building: Credit economy empowers citizens to own assets, invest, and build intergenerational wealth instead of remaining in survival mode.

Within the ambit of development and environmental journalism, Nigerian media must lead the conversation, NICA stated. This means focusing on issues, emerging trends, new discoveries, and policy actions that can chart a new path for Nigeria toward a strong and inclusive economy.

A CALL TO ACTION FOR THE MEDIA

NICA urged Nigerian media houses to:

Create dedicated desks and beats for credit economy reporting, separate from general finance.
Investigate and report on credit access, consumer protection, credit bureaus, creditworthiness assessment innovation, policy gaps, and professional capacity building for the efficient management of credit economy regime.
Hold economic, political and corporate leaders to account on laws, regulations, policies, and institutional governance that enable or hinder a functional credit ecosystem.
Educate the public on credit literacy, rights, responsibilities, and opportunities, emphasizing the importance of informing people to be creditready, creditworthy, and creditmanaged.

Journalism has the power to shape national direction, NICA said. By specializing in credit economy journalism, the media will not just report the news. It will help build the Nigeria we all desire — an economy where no one is left behind because they lack cash today or access to credit.

NICA reaffirmed its commitment to work with the media organizations through training, data, expert access, and research to build capacity for this new area of specialized reporting.

About NICA

National Institute of Credit Administration (NICA), chartered, is Nigeria’s statutory professional body for the control, supervision, and regulation of credit management profession in the country; formed in 1992 as the “Institute of Credit Administration –ICA” and became chartered by the Act of Parliament No.26 of 2022. In furtherance to this, the Federal Government through the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on October 22 2024, proclaimed credit management a national profession, and its qualifications nationally recognized.

Additionally, in February 2026, the Federal Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Institute of Credit Administration (NICA), chartered, and five other professional bodies to flag off the implementation of a national initiative aimed at providing free training for ten million Nigerians on credit and financial inclusion, with priority on women and youths.

NICA’s mandate includes building a credit culture that drives inclusive economic growth, financial stability, and national development.

Signed,