By Dipo Olowookere
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has appealed to industrial conglomerates operating in the country to support efforts aimed at growing the Nigerian economy and returning it to its glory days.
At a meeting with the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of conglomerates in Nigeria, Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said he would be happy to return the Nigerian economy to the period when the manufacturing and agricultural sectors formed the base of the economy.
He, therefore, enjoined the conglomerates to key into the current administration’s drive of diversifying the base of the Nigerian economy by taking advantage of its large population to market their products, which he insisted could be produced in Nigeria and exported to the rest of the world.
He also pledged the bank’s willingness to provide foreign exchange (forex) to companies that required such for raw materials and machinery that could not be obtained in Nigeria.
However, he emphasised that the apex bank will not support the importation of items that can be produced in Nigeria because the nation’s chief lender would not spend its foreign exchange reserves on what would not boost the economy and generate jobs for Nigerians.
Mr Emefiele, while acknowledging the challenge of low crude oil prices to major economies of the world, expressed confidence that the price of crude will not remain at low levels for a long period, declaring that Nigeria’s foreign reserves of about $37 billion was sufficient and robust to support the economy at the moment.
He assured the CEOs of the bank’s willingness to collaborate with other fiscal authorities to improve on their ease of doing business in Nigeria, with a view to simplifying their import and export processes.
At the virtual meeting, Mr Emefiele said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was making efforts ensure that the process of full reopening of the country’s economy goes smoothly.
President Buhari had shut down the nation’s commercial capital, Lagos, alongside Abuja and Ogun State for five weeks due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
He only eased the lockdown in a phase one from May 4, 2020 and will remain that way till June 1, 2020, when it would be reviewed again. Businesses have been allowed to operate in Lagos between 9am and 3pm because of the national curfew from 8pm to 6am.
