CBN Harps on Patronising Locally Made Goods

The acting Director, Corporate Communication, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Isaac Okorafor has said no nation can develop by depending heavily on the consumption of foreign goods, just jus he stressed the need for Nigerians to reduce their appetite for imported goods.

Okorafor disclosed in Lagos at the 2017 Biennial Convention of the Nigeria Guild Editors (NGE) with theme: “A Nation in Recession: Whither the Nigeria Media,” held recently.

He explained: “We are in recession because of the nation’s collective failure to diversify the economy. That has put us in a very serious position. We depend on the foreign sources for our income and at the same time depend on foreign sources on the items we spend our incomes on. We depend on the price of oil for much of what we spend and what we spend.

“We also spend on things that we import. No economy can grow in that manner and no nation has ever developed along that path. As soon as the price of oil began to decline we ran into an economic crisis that gave birth to a recession. We recall that in September 2015, the CBN monetary policy communiqué indicated that the country might slip into recession in 2016, if nothing was done.”

The CBN official reiterated that activities of currency speculators and dirty monies were partly responsible for the wide gap that was seen between the official and parallel market rates before the intervention by the apex bank.

This, according to him, was revealed in a survey by the CBN. He said the intelligence report was corroborated by the activities of people burying monies in grave and their apartments.

The CBN spokesman further stated that when they discovered that much of the demand in the black market were not genuine, they decided develop initiatives that has since led to the appreciation of the naira.

He, however said both monetary and fiscal authorities are working to ensure that the fortune of the economy improves, stating that the impact of the economy crisis was too much on the nation because of structural issues.

Okorafor further restated factors that led to the elimination of 41 items from the forex market. In her remarks, the President of the Nigeria Guild of Editors, (NGE) Mrs. Funke Egbemode, called on editors to remain steadfast in their professional pursuit, adding that the nation depends on the media because of the power they wield in the areas of nation building, nurturing little businesses and enterprises to become large corporation and giving a voice to the voiceless.

She stated stated that the outgoing Executives had opened talks with the Nigeria Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru for partnership and training opportunities.

Egbemode added: “As professionals whose job impacts every facet of our national life, editors are more than qualified to have Managing Nigeria Intelligently (MNI) at the end of their names. Two of our former president, late Chris Okolie and Baba Halilu Dantiye have blazed the trail in the regards, and it is our desire that editors have slots at the NIPSS.

“The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has shown interest in working with the NGE. We have had meetings with the leadership of the institution and talks are at advanced stage to have a study centre for members and also editors as Examiners of NOUN.”