Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has stated that the country’s GDP can rise to 3% by the end of 2021.
On Tuesday, he spoke at the 14th annual Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria banking and finance conference in Abuja, with the theme ‘Recovery, inclusion, and transformation: The Role of Banking and Finance.’
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The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, and other dignitaries attended the event.
“Your excellency sir, with continued improvements in the economy, I am optimistic that by the end of the year, our economy will not only close the output gap caused by the 2020 recession but that we will end the year with an annual GDP growth of between 2.5 – 3%, up from -1.92 % in 2020,” Emefiele said.
He also stated that the country’s robust payment system had continued to evolve in order to meet the needs of Nigerian households and businesses.
He stated that between 2015 and 2020, close to $500 million in funds had been invested in firms run by Nigerian founders, demonstrating confidence in its payment system
He stated that the conference’s theme was appropriate given the unprecedented events of 2020, especially when viewed in the context of policymakers’ efforts to reverse a significant downturn in economic activity last year.
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To build on the growth and resilience of Nigerian banks over the last decade, he stated that the central bank would establish The Nigerian International Financial Centre within the next year.
According to him, the NIFC will serve as an international gateway for capital and investments, fueled by technology and payment system infrastructure.
“This new financial hub will curate local and international banks in order to make them global champions,” he explained.
The President/Chairman of Council, CIBN, Dr Bayo Olugbemi, said the conference had in attendance over 10,000 participants across the diverse sectors of the economy with global representations to discuss elaborately the appropriate ways to propel the economy forward.
He stated that the event aimed to provide much-needed solutions that would drive economic recovery, inclusion, and economic transformation for greater value.
Rising unemployment threatens Nigeria’s elite, making them vulnerable – Ngige
Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, has stated that the country’s rising unemployment rate portends danger.
He attributed this on Tuesday and lack of education to the problems bedevilling the country, warning that if not tackled the country might be “completely wiped out.”
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The minister said this at the inaugural partnership economy summit organised by the Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs in Abuja.
The summit was tagged, ‘Translating Sustainable Development Goals to local businesses in Nigeria.’
Ngige said, “We are in trouble as a country. We are in trouble and anybody who tells you he doesn’t know we are in trouble is lying to himself and once you lie to yourself.
“We are facing a problem that is cyclic, one begat the other. It is left for you and me the elite to decide to save ourselves, save our children and save our country.
“If we keep on with these symptoms; buy ammunition, bomb these people, bomb kidnappers, bomb Boko Haram, you will be wasting resources.
“It would have cost you less if you had prevented it. We must educate these people at the grassroots level.
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“Those who are unable to obtain an education must be provided with employment so that they can support themselves. They’ll be able to put a roof over their heads.”
He emphasized the importance of providing quality education to people at the grassroots, claiming that the inability to do so was to blame for people being drawn into separatist agitations and terrorism, among other things.
“If you don’t kill ignorance, you are breeding people who will be brainwashed to believe that with Biafra, all their problems will go away; Oduduwa, all their problems will go away, Boko Haram,” he added.
“If we don’t deal with them, we’ll keep going like this until this country is completely wiped out; we don’t wish for that. We must educate the people at the grassroots level.”
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who was represented by Trade and Investment Minister Adeniyi Adebayo, described Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises as the backbone of the Nigerian economy.
