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From Uche Usim, Abuja
State governors, corporate bodies and entrepreneurs have applauded the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for its legion of intervention programmes being dispensed by its Development Finance Department.
They said the initiatives have galvanised growth both at the federal and sub-national levels, thus boosting the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The governors and other beneficiaries of the apex bank’s monetary policy interventions and loans barred their minds at the 2022 Development Finance Department’s retreat in Abuja on Monday.
Speaking at the event through a virtual platform, the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, assured Nigerians that the apex bank would continue to intervene in key sectors of the economy to ensure price stability and food security.
In her remarks, the Deputy Governor, Financial Systems Stability (FSS), Mrs Aisha Ahmad, said the loans which has been disbursed by the CBN through the development finance department have impacted greatly the sustainability of Nigeria’s agric value chain which was evident in the third quarter GDP report released by the NBS which shows a growth of 29.9 per cent growth from 21 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2021.
“However we urge the beneficiaries of these interventions to pay up the loans so that other people can benefit,” she pleaded.
In his goodwill message, the Jigwawa State Governor, Mr Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, noted that the different interventions by the CBN have impacted tremendously in many states, especially his.
“For instance, before these interventions in the agric value chain, we could only produce about 192, 800 metric tons of rice but with the various interventions in the last 5 years, we now do 1.9 million metric tonnes with thousands of moribund rice mills now revived. The development has moved our GDP from N1 trillion in 2015 to N2.5 trillion in 2021”, he revealed.
In his opening speech, the Director, Development Finance Department, Mr Yusuf Yila, noted that the task of enabling food security, stimulating finance to the real sector, and catalysing action towards inclusive economic growth in a country with a population of over 200 million people, a population growth rate of 2.5 annually, a GDP of $445 billion is hardly a walk in the park for the Development Finance Department and the CBN.
“Food security in Nigeria has seen a very massive boost in recent years since we intervened. DFD has been in the trenches fighting to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on food imports; reduce the drain on forex hence stemming imported inflation; stimulate local productivity and diversify the economy away from oil to the real sector. We have traversed the length and breadth of this country empowering farmers through our Anchor Borrowers Programme.
“We have empowered commercial farmers through our Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Funds, enabled SMEs by extending access to finance using the Agribusiness Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS). Moreso, the Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) was a very potent tool in mitigating the impact of COVID during the protracted lockdown period. The TCF became the bedrock of comfort for many households during COVID and Nigerians would surely remember that. And certainly, our tertiary education students and graduates are not left out in the cold. We initiated the Tertiary Institutions Entrepreneurship Scheme (TIES) and have seen smiles on the faces of erstwhile helpless students and graduates who otherwise would have basically joined the labour pool with no hope of meaningful employment years after graduation. With TIES we have confronted this big unemployment problem, and all a student or graduate requires is to have an idea, apply for TIES and then watch that idea grow and take wings. With our Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) we have catalysed access to finance for the most excluded business segments of our economic space. Women are prioritised in the MSMEDF with a dedicated percentage of funds earmarked to enable us to close the gender gap in financing. Our financial inclusion drive has been very resonant and consistent over the years, to enable access to finance for all Nigerians and we have even renewed our target to 95% by 2024. We continue to build the case for the use of movable assets as collateral for individuals and small businesses to unfreeze and unlock finances to enable Nigerians to make a decent living. Time would fail me to talk about our interventions in the power sector to ensure Nigerians have electricity, and also in the airline segment, providing a buffer to ensure air travel continues seamlessly in Nigeria. To ensure that financial institutions lend to the real sector we implemented the Differentiated Cash Reserve Requirement programme to enable liquidity for financing targeted projects for economic expansion and these are yielding fruits,” he explained.
