The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has scored itself high in promoting inclusive growth and sustainable development as its intervention programmes have created over seven million jobs in the country.
According to its acting Director of Corporate Communications Department, Mr Isaac Okorafor, who stated this Thursday at the CBN Special Day, at the ongoing Lagos International Trade Fair said the theme of the event:Promoting Industrialisation for Economic Recovery and Sustainable Growth, resonates with the apex bank’s development financing agenda, through the interventions in critical sectors of the economy.
He explained that this demonstrates CBN’s strategic objective of promoting inclusive growth and sustainable development.
On the interventions, the CBN spokesman explained that its areas of focus include agriculture, manufacturing, MSMEs and infrastructure.
He stated: “It is pertinent to note that the following CBN interventions have impacted the Nigerian economy through direct creation of millions of jobs as at August 2017: Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF), 3,045,900 jobs; N200billion Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS), 1,134,772 jobs; N200billion SME restructuring & Restructuring &Refinancing Facility (SMERRF), 89,860 jobs; N300billion Power and Airline Intervention Fund(PAIF),7899 direct jobs and 14,304 indirect jobs; the N220billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF),139,156 jobs;Textile Sector Intervention Facility (TSIF),1,668 jobs”.
Okorafor added that N44.18billion has so far been released through the 13 participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) in the Anchor Borrowersí Programme (ABP) for the 200,000 small holder farmers across the 29 states cultivating over 234, 581 hectares of farmland. The ABP was said to have equally yielded 653,250 jobs.
In her opening remarks, the President of Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Mrs Nike Akande, called on CBN to pay more attention to the excess bank charges, liquidity management of the foreign exchange (forex) market and increased monitoring of the banks for financial sector stability and efficient service delivery to bank customers.
Mrs Akande, who spoke through her deputy, Babatunde Ruwase, praised the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, for his ability to manage a turbulent recession recently exited by the country.
Source- THE SUN
