The Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Godwin Emefiele, has stressed the need for the country to strengthen its domestic economic base, fast-track the attainment of economic diversification, limit reliance on foreign products, insulate and immunise our economy against foreign shocks.
The governor who was speaking at the 2022 Bankers’ Committee retreat in Lagos weekend with the theme, ‘Increasing the productive base of the Nigerian economy and non-oil export revenues’, said: “In view of the widespread food and cost-of-living crises, we are seeing growing restrictions on food exports as about 23 advance economies, according to the World Bank, have banned the export of 33 food items. Also, the European Union plans to impose energy price caps on Russian supplies, to curtail energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.
Most of these actions, including the effects of capital flow reversals and exchange rate pressures, have not only amplified the vulnerabilities of EMDEs, but assertively highlights the need for us to strengthen our domestic economic base, fast-track the attainment of economic diversification, limit our reliance on foreign products, insulate and immunise our economy against foreign shocks.”
According to him,it was in view of the need to support the fundamentals of the Nigerian economy, diversify from dependence on oil inflows, and minimise the debilitating pressures in the foreign exchange market that the CBN launched the RT200 programme in February 2022.
This initiative, which was designed to stimulate non-oil exports with a $200bn foreign exchange income target in three to five years, had been widely accepted and driven by the institutions that constitute the Bankers’ Committee, he said.
The retreat was attended by Lagos State Governor, Babajide
Sanwo-Olu, and other bank executives.
