By Kadiri Abdulrahman
Some stakeholders in the financial sector have commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s “100 for 100’’ Policy for Production and Productivity (PPP)’’ initiative to boost productivity in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the apex bank had introduced the policy in November, 2021, and was inaugurated in January.
The CBN Governor Mr Godwin Emefiele, said that the ultimate goal of the policy was to reverse the nation’s sole reliance on crude oil by creating an ecosystem that targets and supports the right companies and projects.
Emefiele said that the scheme would provide low-cost finance to both new and current productive ventures.
According to him, the projects will produce close to 125.8 billion dollars in foreign exchange and more than 20,000 direct and indirect jobs across all sectors of the economy.
He said that for the first stage, 28 enterprises had qualified for finance, with projects totaling N23.2 billion.
A financial expert, Mr Okechukwu Unegbu, commended the apex bank for thinking outside the box to salvage the Nigerian economy from its over reliance on crude oil receipts.
He urged beneficiaries to ensure that the funds were judiciously utilised to achieve the purpose of boosting the productive sector of the economy.
“The CBN has made commendable efforts to encourage the manufacturing sector and economic diversification in recent times, and this policy is another one.
“The realisation by fiscal and monetary authorities, that it is imperative to move the country away from dependence on crude oil to the productive and manufactureting sector is encouraging.
“I urge beneficiaries of this policy to ensure that the funds are used for the purpose for which they were allocated, while the CBN should ensure strict oversight and monitoring to ensure compliance,’’ he said.
Mr Ibrahim Aliu, a Chartered Accountant, advised the apex bank to take stock of its recent economic policy decisions to determine their level of success.
“The CBN has introduced many policies in recent times aimed at diversifying the economy and stabilising the Naira. It is not just enough to introduce these policies.
“The apex bank needs to take stock, do an appraisal to determine the level of success of existing policies before initiating new ones,’’ he said.
An economist, Mr Joseph Adebayo, also called for effective monitoring of beneficiaries of the policy to ensure that the funds were not diverted.
“Many Nigerians believe that government money is free money. I hope the CBN has adequate modalities to monitor the 28 enterprises and their usage of the N23.2 billion loan,’’ he said.
NAN reports that qualified beneficiaries cut across sectors like manufacturing, agribusiness and agro-processing and extractive industries.
Others are petro-chemicals and renewables, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, logistics services and trade-related infrastructure, and other activities as prescribed by the CBN. (NAN)
