Victor Ezeja
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, at the weekend reiterated that the apex bank under his leadership, would concentrate mainly on the core mandate of price stability by curtailing inflation.
Prime Business Africa reports that since President Bola Tinubu announced on May 29 that petrol subsidy was gone, inflation has continued to accelerate climbing to 26.72 per cent as of September 2023. Pundits posit that the situation was not helped by the central bank’s floating of the Naira mid-June.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelSpeaking while playing host to the Impact Investing Community in his office in Abuja, the CBN governor maintained that he and his team were poised to change the narrative and make the central bank more impactful in the lives of Nigerians.
“At the end of our tenure, we want to look back and see that our policies have positively impacted people’s lives,” he said as he thanked the Impact Investing Community for the visit.
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He noted that the community represented an excellent future for Nigeria, with the potential to transform the country’s economy by tapping into the investment opportunities available across the country.
While commending the quality of leadership at Impact Investing Community and its effort to create awareness, as well as, build partnerships, the CBN boss assured that the bank would collaborate with them in the direction of putting in place frameworks that would encourage investments that would contribute to economic growth.
The community was led on the visit by the 14th Emir of Kano and Khalifa of the Tijaniyyah Sufi order of Nigeria and the neighbouring countries, Muhammadu Sanusi II, who is also a former Governor of the CBN. In his remarks, Sanusi pointed out that the Bank’s activities had a massive impact on the lives of Nigerians, stressing that many people often “do not know the impact of a Central Bank’s works until a Central Bank fails.”
While expressing concerns about the inflation rate, the former CBN governor urged the new leadership at the apex bank to work persistently at driving down the rate, which according to him, had severely impacted the wealth of individuals.
He highlighted the importance of long-term planning by the CBN in achieving its goals, just as he emphasised the need for the fiscal authorities to focus on agriculture and education, especially for the girl-child.
Also speaking, the Chair of Impact Investing, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, said they were at the CBN to register their willingness to support what the bank and the federal government were doing in terms of changing Nigeria’s investment climate by redirecting resources to areas where they would make the most positive impact.
According to her, over $200trillion was available around the globe as investment funds, with $1 Trillion of it with Impact Investing.
She further stated that Impact Investing, with a presence in over 41 countries, was willing to blend with traditional investment practitioners to make an impact in the country. While stressing the importance of social investment, she sought the support of the CBN to enable the body to achieve its goal.
On his part, the Deputy Governor in charge of Corporate Services, Dr. Bala Bello, used the meeting to underscore the importance of investment, noting that global capital was moving towards social investment.
He thanked the team for its support, asserting that collaboration and effective communication were vital to successfully navigate the current challenges in the country.
