CBN to continue policies to reduce importation

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, will continue to implement policies that will help reduce the importation of goods that can be produced locally in the country.

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele stated this on Friday in a lecture he delivered at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The apex bank boss further hinted that the targeted of the CBN on agricultural ans industrial sectors were because of the great opportunities the sectors posses for growth of the nation’s economy.

Emefiele said: “Our targeted focus on the agricultural and industrial sectors were driven by the vast opportunities for growth in these sectors, given our high population. It was also instrumental in taking Nigeria out of the recession. In 2017, over 50 per cent of the contributions to Gross Domestic Product growth came from the agriculture and industrial sectors.

Read also: Residents protest bill to protect BEDC assets in Edo

“These sectors have the ability to absorb the growing labour pool of eligible workers in our effort to meet the household consumption needs of the Nigerian populace. If efforts were made to improve productivity gains in these sectors, it will reduce our dependence on imported items that could be produced in Nigeria.”

According to him, the CBN took extraordinary measures to tackle the rising inflation in the country and also cushion the impact of the drop in foreign exchange supply on the Nigerian economy.

“We introduced demand management approaches to conserve our reserves and support domestic production of certain goods in Nigeria.

“In this regard, we analysed our import bill, and encouraged manufacturers to consider local options in sourcing their raw materials, by restricting access to foreign exchange on 41 items (now increased to 43). Four of these items alone constitute over N1tn of our annual import bill”, Emefiele said.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now