CBN Gov Distances Self From Emefiele’s N100bn Fertilizer Handed Over To Agric Ministry

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Yemi Cardoso, has distanced his administration from the N100bn worth of fertilizer reportedly released to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS) on Tuesday.

Cardoso, during the 294th meeting of CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee in Abuja, said the intervention was a residue of the past administration’s intervention to farmers under the detained former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

THE WHISTLER reported that the apex bank boss handed over 2.15 million bags of fertilizers worth N100bn to the ministry to tackle food security.

However, Cardoso said the idea was not his administration’s as the CBN retained its decision to no longer intervene in the Nigerian economy through quasi-fiscal activities

“Does this suggest a return to development intervention? the answer is no because the CBN has been consistent in saying that it would withdraw from direct interventions.

“The fertilizer that was given out was a residue of the intervention that had been done before we came into administration. it was not our idea, but we had options, either to keep them and them rot away or give them to those that we believed could distribute.

“And that is exactly what we did with the handing over to the Ministry of Agriculture, in fact, the way I see it is that we’ve taken that particular merchandise and put it where it rightfully belongs,”. Cardoso was quoted saying

Earlier the agriculture minister, Abubakar Kyari, confirmed the handing over of the fertilizers to the ministry while disclosing that the distribution to farmers was stalled as the warehouse location of the palliative was unknown.