Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) saturday urged Nigerians to embrace its micro and macro policies aimed at entrenching economic stability in the country.
CBN’s Director, Corporate Communications, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, made the call at a two-day sensitization fair the apex bank organised in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, for low income earners.
Okorafor, who was represented at the sensitization fair by a deputy director, Veronica Aqua, noted that the bank’s goal was “to stimulate economic development for the people to live a better and more fulfilled lives.
“The idea of the fair is for the low income to come together, interact and create synergy towards enhancing access to finance, increase productivity, generate employment, create wealth and engender sustainable growth.” He explained that objective of the fair, which he said, was “to create awareness about the CBN activities as it concerns economic development initiative of the bank with a view of explaining the opportunities available and how every citizen can take advantage of them.”
“The various initiatives of the CBN based on monetary policy, modernization of the payment system, development financing programme, and financial literacy are designed to revamp, reposition and re-engineering vital sectors of the economy.”
Okorafor gave some of the CBN initiatives to include Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF), Micro Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSME), Micro Finance Policy and Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS).
Other initiatives of the apex bank are Electronic Payment System (alternative payment channels), Mobile Banking, Right of Consumers Services, Financial Inclusion, Biometric Verification Number (BVN) and Pursuit of Sound and Stable Financial System.
In a welcome address, the CBN Comptroller, Lafia Branch, Mr. Isuwa Samson told the gathering not to see the bank as a no go area but an institution that they will love to use to transform their livelihood.
He explained that he CBN “has programmes designed to develop the economy of the country in the areas of farming and other business ventures hence the citizens should not hesitate to embrace the bank get the benefits awaiting for them in the apex bank.”
