Uche Ameachi

The Coalition of Civil Society Groups on Tuesday applauded the outstanding economic policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN Governor Mr Godwin Emefiele and the entire Management of the apex bank that put has Nigeria’s economy on the path of success.

Speaking to the Journalists in a world press briefing held in Abuja, the President of the Group Etuk Bassey Williams (JP) revealed that, the effort put in place by the CBN Gove to revamp the economy in the midst of different challenges cannot be quantified.

He said that Emefiele, who is a nationalistic economist of a kind, indeed has shown commitment in the course of his tenure and has championed diversification of Nigeria’s economy, away from heavy dependence on crude oil as well as other imported items that can be produced in the country.

According to Mr Williams “We observe these efforts and consider it pertinent to appreciate their hard work, commitment, dedication and tact employed in the management of Naira, empowering the Farmers and Entrepreneurs towards job and wealth-creating.

“The aim of this activity today is to encourage the CBN Governor and his team not to relent but to do more and continue to justify the confidence reposed on them by Mr President: Muhammadu Buhari.       

There is no doubt that his appointment in 2014, and re-appointment in 2020 was the right judgment. Without equivocation, Emefiele’s contribution to the development and growth of the Nigerian economy, as well as innovations in development financing, earned him President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination for a second term in office as CBN Governor; this singular achievement is by the records the first time anyone had been so nominated since 1999.”

Speaking on the achievement of the hard-working CBN, under the leadership of Mr Emefiele, Mr Bassey Willian expressed; “In line with his promise at the unveiling of his Agenda in 2014, he commenced operation with the objective of enhancing access to credit to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), as that sector remains the catalysts of economic growth in Nigeria.

“His tactful supervision of periodic OMO interventions resulted in a mop-up of excess liquidity to curtail inflation and boost investors’ confidence in Nigeria’s fixed income securities such as Treasury Bills and Bonds.

“He has also ensured the protection of Bank Customers, effective supervision of Deposit Money Banks and Other Financial Institutions; and deepening of Financial Inclusion through an effective banking and payments system. In recent times,

“Governor Emefiele has also backed up his pledge to facilitate job creation with the creation of the Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI), which is being implemented in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee.

“To encourage diversification of the economy and stimulate growth in the agriculture sector in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s plan, the CBN Governor established an innovative agriculture credit plan: Anchor Borrowers Programme and this has increased yield per hectare of agricultural produce like Rice, Groundnut and Cocoa.

“It doesn’t end there, the CBN Governor embarked on other policies such as the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YEDP), Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme (AADS), the Agri-business/Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS), the National Collateral Registry (NCR) and lately the Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI), which is a collaboration between the CBN and the Bankers’ Committee.

“CBN Gov. has continued to make effort to stabilized the Naira and put the economy on a right footing. Creating the Inter-bank/Wholesale and the Investors/Exporters’ windows. This has brought great relief, leading to remarkable acreage in foreign reserves and a rise in capital inflow.

“He also introduced an import exclusion policy that increased patronage for local goods and stimulated local production significantly, introduces a check on the activities of the Bureau De Change (BDC) and ended the continued depreciation of Naira over the years.

“In a sincere effort to salvage the naira, the CBN stopped the sales of Forex to Bureau De Change (BDC) Operators who exploit and artificially inflate dollar/naira exchange. We applaud this move to discourage illicit financial flow, BDC racketeering and indiscriminate round-tripping.  We applaud the genuine effort of the Governor in trying to stabilize the naira.”

“The group said the Governor has used his masterstrokes, God-given wisdom and deliberate, precise and impactful policies to halt the recession and tame covid-19 pandemic that recently threatened the country

“We are bold to say that Nigeria is in Safe hands” economically.”

The group, however, sought the supports of every Nigerian that will spur him to do more for the growth and development of the country’s economy.

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