We Remain Committed To Steering Economy Away From Looming Recession—–CBN

The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, and his team at the Bank will not be deterred in their effort to steer the Nigerian economy away from the looming recession due to the global impact of the Corona Virus pandemic.

The CBN Director, Corporate Communications Department, Isaac Okorafor, made the declaration in a statement issued on Wednesday.

He disclosed that the bank had uncovered sinister plans by some persons with selfish interests in Nigeria’s economic and socio-political space to distract the CBN and discredit the institution through deliberate misinformation, complete fabrications and outright lies.  

The International Monetary Fund , had downgraded  its expectations for the Nigerian economy in the 2020 fiscal period.

The Global Financial body projects that the country’s Gross Domestic Product  will shrink by 5.4 per cent in 2020.

The IMF had in April projected a 3.4 per cent decline in GDP.

But Okorafor said that the CBN, in pursuit of its mandate enshrined in the CBN Act (2007), as Amended, would continue to strive to ensure accretion to the external reserves to safeguard the international value of the Naira.

This, he said is in addition to ensuring no individual or institution circumvents the system. 

According to Okorafor, the Naira, in the past three years, had remained stable against other world currencies, due largely to strict measures put in place by the CBN to check cases of round-tripping. 

He said the apex bank, working with other relevant agencies of government, had equally curtailed the activities of economic saboteurs neck-deep in smuggling and other economic crimes.  

While noting that those opposed to the policies of the CBN will not relent in their effort to undermine the bank, he said the apex bank remained resolute to the dictates of its enabling Act and would not be distracted by subjective criticisms from persons who do not mean well for the general good of the Nigerian people and the economy. 

He recalled that the CBN, under Emefiele’s leadership, had made genuine patriotic efforts at promoting economic growth and development through its intervention programmes, particularly in the agricultural sector.

This, he said led to the revamp of value chains across over ten agricultural commodities, including cotton, oil palm, fish, poultry, livestock and maize, among others. 

He cited the rice revolution under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme as a major contributor to shielding Nigeria from a food crisis when major rice producing countries of the world halted exports from their shores in the height of the corona virus.

 
Also alluding to the recent interventions of the Bank through the N50bn Targeted Credit facility for households and small businesses affected by the corona virus and the N100bn Credit Support for the Health sector, Okorafor said the Bank remained people-oriented.

Okorafor assured that the CBN remained committed to transparently pursue its mandate in the interest of majority of Nigerians rather than for the selfish interest of a few, stressing that majority of Nigerians were better informed and would not indulge in unpatriotic economic acts for selfish purposes.