CBN pledges to stem inflation

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has assured the citizenry of its resolve to bring down inflation to make life meaningful for the people just as it vowed not to be distracted by blackmail.

Reacting to last week’s protest in its Abuja Head Office, the Director, Corporate Communications of the apex bank, Mr Isaac Okoroafor, said both fiscal and monetary authorities are putting heads together to find solutions to the economic crisis facing the nation.

“And some of the solutions we, at the CBN, are already doing include, trying to ensure that the little foreign currency that comes in, we make judicious utilisation of it; to direct it to the most important sectors that will stimulate the economy and create jobs. And we are also doing a lot in trying to diversify the economy by funding agriculture; to, at least, provide food for our people; and to provide alternatives to some of the imported items that have driven our forex market to this level now. And so, we will not succumb to any blackmail”, he said.

Recall that some a group, clad in red T-shirts and face-caps last Tuesday morning, besieged the CBN Head Office protesting the falling exchange rate of the Naira.

But going down memory lane, the CBN spokesman said the current challenge was brought about by past failure to take right choices.

His words: “We all know how our country came to this economic situation. It is a product of our collective failure to make the right choices over the years; to plan actively and diversify our economy. And the development in the oil market, leading to the crash of not just oil, but other commodities’ prices too.

“I also want to say that we are not joining issues with anybody, and we at CBN are not going to yield to any kind of blackmail, where you, maybe, block avenues through which people have been doing round tripping and they come to you to say, okay, if you are not doing this,we are going to do that. And then they go organise some innocent women, print T-shirts for them.

And they come around to say they are coming to protest.We will not be deterred by such pockets of actions.”
All we know is that our economy is facing very serious situations and we are putting our heads together, both people on the monetary side and the people on the fiscal side to be able to find a solution.”

(Today)