Unemployment: CBN Initiates Measures To Stimulate Exports

The Central Bank of Nigeria has shown readiness to reboot the country’s export market through deliberate policies which would attract investment, as well curb the growing unemployment rate.

In a bid to achieve this, the apex bank governor, Godwin Emefiele would meet the Chief Executives of multinational companies in the country to discuss ways to revamp Nigeria’s export sector.

Emefiele made this known during the bimonthly virtual meeting of the Bankers’ Committee.

Nigeria’s unemployment rate hit a record 27.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2020.

However, the CBN believes that stimulating the country’s export would create jobs for Nigerians.

Emefiele said the apex bank was ready to encourage the revamp of Nigeria’s export sector through deliberate policies that would reshape the economy.

The governor decried instances where many Nigerian produce of export quality were waiting to be tapped.

Emefiele said the CBN would partner with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, to ensure the facilitation of a reboot of the Nigerian export market.

Oil dependent Nigeria had moved to diversify its economy away from crude oil export which constitutes about 90 percent of foreign exchange.

The country had seen gradual depletion of it’s reserves following the slump in oil price from $70 dollar per barrel.

Nigeria’s foreign reserves currently stands at $35.6bn, according to the CBN.

President Muhammadu Buhari had urged Nigerians to produce what they eat and eat what they produce.

Emefiele noted, “The country had no choice but to diversify its economic base away from heavy reliance on crude oil.”

Emefiele had earlier initiated a campaign tagged ‘Produce, Add Value and Export’, specially targeted at agricultural produce.