Emefiele: With Chinese loan, we will implement Buhari’s economic plan

Godwin Emefiele

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says the fiscal and monetary authorities are committed to implementing President Muhammadu Buhari’s economic recovery and growth plan (ERGP).

Emefiele also said the series of intervention embarked upon by the apex bank in the foreign exchange market would improve economic activities and productivity in the country.

Emefiele said this at a news conference after the launching of the International Monetary Fund’s Regional Economic Outlook report on Sub-Saharan Africa, on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said that results had shown that the consistent pumping of foreign exchange was impacting positively on the market and simultaneously strengthening the naira.

As at today, the naira is exchanging for N305.7 to a dollar at the inter-bank market and N386 to a dollar at the parallel market.

In recent weeks, the CBN had introduced the Small and Medium Enterprise Forex window as well as the Investors and Exporters Forex window.

The apex bank also increased the volume of dollars that a single bureau de change could bid for to $40,000 per week from the previous amount of $8,000 per BDC.

This is in addition to the consistent intervention of over three billion dollars since February to make Forex more accessible to genuine customers for school fees, medicals and travel allowances.

Emefiele expressed confidence that the price of commodity would go down in due time as the growth trend in the country continued.

He also reiterated that the fiscal and monetary authorities were committed to implementing the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, critical to taking the country out of its current economic crisis.

“We are looking at accessing funds from the international community. Aside the Eurobond, we are looking at the China market through the China-Exim facility.

“I can assure you all that once we get these funds and deploy them to developing power, roads, rail and all those sectors,  everyone will be positively impacted.

“And it’s not just on individual lives, it will impact on our economy and on the growth trajectory of the country,’’ he added.