Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has stated that the bank has disbursed N370 billion out of the N400 billion provided under its Targeted Credit Facility.
Emefiele made the remarks on Tuesday at the 2021 annual Bankers’ Committee retreat in Lagos, which had the theme ‘Building resilience for economic growth.’
He stated that in order to contain the downturn and drive the recovery of Nigeria’s economy, the monetary and fiscal authorities implemented a series of policy measures that have aided the rebound in Nigeria’s growth, which will begin in the fourth quarter of 2020.
“Other CBN policy measures that we implemented to assist the economy’s recovery include the establishment of an N400 billion Targeted Credit Facility for households and small and medium-sized businesses.” “Nearly N370 billion has been distributed to over 800,000 beneficiaries,” he said.
According to him, the N1tn facility established for local manufacturing and production in critical sectors is funding 53 manufacturing, 21 agriculture-related, and 13 service projects.
Emefiele stated that a N200 billion healthcare intervention fund was established for pharmaceutical companies and healthcare practitioners to expand and strengthen the country’s healthcare institutions.
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He stated that, in accordance with its mandate to promote a sound monetary and financial system and in collaboration with the fiscal authorities, the CBN took unprecedented measures to contain the effects of the pandemic on the economy and stimulated increased productivity in key sectors.
He stated that the CBN worked with fiscal authorities to develop strong policy support measures as part of the Economic Sustainability Plan to restore stability and catalyze growth.
According to the CBN governor, the CBN’s initiatives helped to spur and support the economy’s recovery and realign general macroeconomic conditions.
He stated that as a result of policy actions, the country will exit recession in the fourth quarter of 2020 with a 0.11 percent growth rate, which will improve to 0.51 percent in Q1 2021.
“On the back of this recovery, the CBN remains focused on strengthening the fundamentals of the Nigerian economy through the use of monetary policy,” he said.
