Nigerians have been urged to embrace the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) intervention programs in order to foster financial stability and economic development.
Mr Osita Nwanisiobi, CBN Director of Corporate Communications, stated this at the opening session of a two-day expo organized by the apex bank in Owerri on Wednesday.
Nwanisiobi, who was represented by Mr Sam Okogbue, Deputy Director, Corporate Communications Department, said the interventions were targeted at emancipating businesses and reducing poverty.
Nwanisiobi, who spoke on the theme “Promoting Financial Stability and Economic Development,” said the CBN had implemented interventions in the agricultural, manufacturing, and other sectors.
He said that the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers’ programme was the nation’s saving grace for increased availability of rice during the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, rice was the most single popular component of our palliatives. This is a result of the CBN’s Anchor Borrower’s programme for rice farmers,” he said.
He said that Nigeria’s over-dependence on importation was a factor responsible for the fall in the exchange rate of the Naira.
He described the manufacturing sector as a live wire for economic development.
“No successful economy thrives on promotion of imported products over the exportation of locally manufactured products,” he said.
Speaking, Mrs Uchenna Onyene of the CBN’s Currency Operations Department, called on Nigerians to handle the Naira with care in line with the provisions of Section 21, Sub-section 4 of the CBN Act 2007.
She also urged Nigerians to embrace the CBN’s cashless policy to reduce risk and promote seamlessness of transactions, adding that the bank was committed to ensure innovation in payments for better customer experience.
The highlight of the event was the onboarding of stakeholders on the eNaira platform.
