Central Bank of Nigeria has aggressively embarked on sensitization of the general public in the South Eastern Nigerian on the need to take advantage of the CBN interventions programs to develop and expand their business operations.
Osita Nwanusiobi, acting Director cooperate communication department of Central Bank of Nigeria who spoke to journalists in Enugu after declaring open a two day CBN Fair organized in Enugu said that the CBN Governor is very passionate about the need for people to come out and take advantage of these interventions.
He said that CBN has over 36 Intervention programs and that the the Fair was to enable them create awareness of all the CBN polices, Interventions,programs and initiatives and talk to the general public on how to leverage them and take advantage of them to grow their business.
Nwanusiobi also said that the essence of having CBN Fair is to help build confidence within the financial system where people would have the opportunity to rob minds and ask questions on areas that are not clear to them, promote Financial stability and economic development.
” We noticed that they are a small lack of interest in terms of people from the south east to embrace the interventions and that is why we are coming in so aggressively to talk to them, it is not to say they are not leveraging the interventions but what we are saying is that they can do more”
He expressed happiness the commissioner of Agriculture Enugu state Martin Edu, said that these interventions are real that people are leveraging it without knowing any body, that people have been able to grow their business and people in Agriculture have been able also to grow their commodities.
” As we speak now the person that took the first position from the Agric credit guaranty scheme Forum competition is from Enugu state and the man is here speaking telling people on how he started”. So I am saying that these interventions are there for people to leverage, it is there for people to take advantage of what the CBN has provided for them”.
” I have just finished speaking with the commissioner on the need for state government to leverage the Anchor borrowers program, he talked about domesticating the Nsukka Honey value chain ,yes it is possible you can leverage the anchor borrowers program and be able to deal with that. I think what we need to do is to increase our sensitization for the people around this zone for them to understand that this is real and it is working”.
He emphasized that people should come out particularly from the south East, that so many persons who have been able to take advantage of these interventions did it without knowing any body and so that is the reality.
The Enugu state commissioner for Agriculture Martin Edu commended the CBN for bringing the interventions closer to the people with particular reference to Anchor borrowers program on how it boosted the economic development in the state through the agriculture sector.
He however appealed to CBN to domesticate some of the agriculture sectors that have value chain in the state such as Nsukka honey and pepper, Piggery, pointing out that above 2000 farmers in Enugu state are into piggery .
Four papers were presented from different CBN departments ,the consumer department that talked on rights of the consumer which also spoke on the issue of charges. Currency department talked on what the Nigerian currency mean to the people and how it should be handled. Payment department dwell on mobile banking etc, while Development finance department talked on interventions and how to leverage them.
