Assessment of the Effectiveness of Credit Facilities as an Intervention in Satisfying Family Needs among Staff of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

This study assessed the effectiveness of credit facilities in satisfying family needs among staff of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Three objectives were formulated for the study. Descriptive research design was used for the study. 150 academic and non-academic staff of the university were randomly selected and used for the study. A self-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. The findings showed, that majority (70%) of the staff of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, access either formal, informal or digital facilities as a means of intervention in satisfying family needs. Various needs such as education, food, housing, security, emergencies were rated very important. The effectiveness of credit facilities in satisfying family needs showed that credit facilities were moderately effective in addressing key family needs. Majority of the respondents agreed that these facilities helped with children's education expenses (83.4%); health emergencies (62.6%) and prompt handling of financial emergencies (66.0%). Perceptions were mixed regarding improvement in overall family well-being (53.3%), ability to pay without compromising other needs (45.4%), and financial stability (45.4%) showing critical considerations. Most respondents disagreed that credit facilities enabled saving alongside repayment (81.3%) or investment in income-generating activities (58.0%). The study concluded that formal, informal and digital credit facilities played a distinctive role by positively impacting family needs as the credit types allowed for immediate consumption, covered emergencies expenses as well as creating a general well-being of the family. It was recommended that, the management of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria should organize periodic financial management workshops to help staff compare credit options to avoid over-indebtedness. Also, the management of Ahmadu Bello University should organize financial literacy programs to enable staff have understanding of interest rates, repayment schedules and loan terms which most times are not clear to the credit facilities clients.