By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, has urged the 36 state governors in Nigeria to depend less on allocations from crude oil and make their states economically viable for investors in other areas.
The call came while commissioning the Rivers State Cassava Processing Company in Afam, Oyigbo recently.
Mr Emefiele announced that the central bank was ready to collaborate with state governors in diversifying the country’s economy into other identified economically sectors, primarily in agriculture and manufacturing.
He said the cassava factory built by the Rivers State Government in partnership with the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and the government of the Netherlands would save foreign exchange and create employment for youths.
According to him, the byproducts of cassava including starch, flour, and glucose syrup for beverages like malt, beer etc, and particularly urged breweries and beverages firms in the country to patronise the company.
“Please make your states economically viable, so that you can depend less on revenues from oil and the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) so that you can grow your economy and encourage the private sector to invest in your state.
“Thereby creating jobs for our youths and by so doing, increasing your internally generated revenue and by extension develop your state and Nigeria in general.
“It is imperative that we continue to encourage more investment in various sectors of our economy towards diversifying our economy and creating an enabling environment for firms like the Rivers State Cassava Processing Company, with a deliberate emphasis in reducing our dependence on the oil sector,” the nation’s chief banker disclosed.
