By 
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has pledged to adopt an accommodative monetary policy stance in 2021 in order to support economic growth in the country.
He expressed optimism that with the discovery and deployment of vaccines worldwide, 2021 would be a year of massive global recovery and Nigeria must not be left out. He, however, cautioned that “we must prevent a resurgence in COVID-19 related cases.”
He said the government must ensure that a significant number of the country’s population is significantly vaccinated and also improve foreign exchange inflows into the country.
In his keynote address, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo commended the regulatory bank for its doggedness and foresights in the management of the nation’s economy, especially through the turbulence of two recessions within a short period.
The Vice President specifically praised the dexterity of the economic managers under the supervision of President Muhammadu Buhari for the proactive actions which have successfully pulled the economy out of recession.
He stated that the “encouraging growth performance owes a great deal to the early actions of Mr. President, first in providing an initial stimulus and then, constituting the Economic Sustainability Committee and the Economic Sustainability Plan”.
Specifically, professor Osinbajo commended the initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria in the area of direct support and easier credit terms in addition to pragmatic assistance which the Bank extended to individuals, households, small businesses and some specific sectors of the economy, all of which helped greatly.
On the economic outlook, Professor Osinbajo noted that the growth rate 0.11 per cent, though marginal, is very encouraging because it’s a V-shaped recovery with a growth of 3.74 percentage points from the previous quarter.
He further commended law makers, policy makers and business leaders for the good performance in the face of the negative impacts of COVID-19 pandemic.
He described that as not only cheering but a demonstration of “what can be achieved as a nation if all of us work together with sincerity and sense of purpose towards achieving a common objective “.
He however advised that beyond the pandemic induced crisis, the next step in achieving lasting growth is to focus on productivity and value addition.
The Vice President opined that the country must encourage value addition in every sector of our economy like in agriculture, focus must be on the processing of raw produce, adding value means more jobs and the value chain makes more money and create multiplier effect in the economy.
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