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Friday, December 14
2018 / 09:30
AM / CBN
The Governor, Central Bank
of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele has outlined the monetary policy thrust
for 2019, saying that the Bank is of the view that the short-term outlook of
the Nigerian economy remains good, adding that current tight stance of the Bank
is expected to continue in the near-term, due to the rising inflation
expectations and exchange market pressures.
He also said that the Bank,
working with the Federal Government, was open to foreign investors who were
keen to support efforts at unlocking the immense opportunities in Nigeria’s
economy.
Mr. Emefiele stated these
while delivering the keynote address entitled: “Strengthening the Economic
Recovery Process in Nigeria” at the 53rd Annual Bankers’ Dinner of the
Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) on Friday, November 30, 2018.
“Your Central Bank today is
more committed to creating wealth and putting in place strong policies for
creating jobs for our growing youth population; your Central Bank today is ever
more committed to promoting a more stable and resilient financial system,” he
said.
While advising against
hasty criticism of monetary policies, which he said were taken based on
macroeconomic and geopolitical contexts, he assured that the CBN would always
act in good faith, with the best available information and in cognizance of
current economic conditions, to pursue price and financial system stability,
support job creation on a massive scale and ensure a more inclusive growth in
the economy.
On the restriction of
access to foreign exchange from the Nigerian market for 41 items that can be
produced in Nigeria, he reeled out statistics to show that the policy had
helped to boost local production of the items. He said that the combination of
the restriction on 41 items along with other measures imposed by the fiscal and
monetary authorities helped to promote the recovery that got Nigeria out of
recession.
He warned that any attempt
to reverse the policy could negatively affect economic growth in the country,
particularly as it relates to the push to diversify the Nigerian economy. He
also disclosed that the CBN’s Economic Intelligence and Banking Supervision
Departments would work closely with the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) to expose and sanction any bank, company or Foreign Exchange
operator that colludes with individuals or companies to undermine the policy on
41 items.
Speaking on the success of
the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, he said the development finance intervention
scheme had ensured that Nigeria emerged from being a net importer of rice to
becoming a major producer of rice, supplying key markets in neighboring
countries. According to him, as at October 2018, a total number of 862,069
farmers cultivating about 835,239 hectares, across 16 different commodities,
had so far benefited from the programme, which had generated 2,502,675 jobs
across the country.
He said the Nigerian
economy had performed creditably compared to the performance of other emerging
markets such as Brazil, South Africa, Turkey, and Argentina, adding that the
country’s dominance over the review period was due to the stability of the
Investors & Exporters (I&E) Foreign Exchange window rate and the yields
being high by emerging-market standards.
In spite of the impact of
the recession that Nigeria experienced, he said the country’s economy remained
the largest in Africa by the size of its GDP, with a very well diversified mix
of opportunities across different sectors, such as ICT, Manufacturing, Solid
Minerals, Trade and Agriculture. He assured investors that their investments in
the country would be protected by the monetary and fiscal authorities.
Other issues the Governor
spoke on were the efforts of the Bank at ensuring financial inclusion, credit
allocation, Risk Based Supervision, Gross Domestic Product, inflation, exchange
rate, balance of payment and domestic credit.
Present at the dinner were
the Deputy Governors of the CBN, Dr. Okwu Joseph Nnanna (Economic Policy) and
Mrs. Aishah Ahmad (Financial System Stability); the President/Chairman, of
Council, CIBN, Dr. Uche Olowu; representatives of the Governors of Lagos and
Kano States; the former CBN Governor, Chief Joseph Sanusi; Chief Executives
Officers of Deposit Money Banks; Departmental Directors from the CBN; bankers
and investors.
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