CBN Committed To Grow Nigeria’s Economy Despite Distractions

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has said it will not bow to detractors who are bent on sabotaging it’s effort to steer the Nigerian economy away from the looming recession due to the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement released by the Director, Corporate Communications Department, Isaac Okorafor, he explained that in spite of the push by some vested interests to impugn the integrity of the bank, Governor of the bank, Godwin Emefielewould leave no stneed unturned.

 According to him “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.”

In pursuit of its mandate enshrined in the CBN Act (2007), as amended, “we will continue to strive to ensure accretion to the external reserves to safeguard the international value of the naira, in addition to ensuring no individual or institution circumvents the system”, he said.

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 added that, the bank, working with other relevant agencies of government, has “equally curtailed the activities of economic saboteurs neck-deep in smuggling and other economic crimes.”

Those opposed to the policies of the CBN “will not relent in their effort to undermine the bank, but the 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.

CBN, under Emefiele’s leadership, had made genuine and patriotic efforts at promoting economic growth and development through its intervention programmes, particularly in the agricultural sector, leading to the revamp of value chains across over 10 agricultural commodities, including cotton, oil palm, fish, poultry, livestock and maize, among others, he added.