Mr Godwin Emefiele, Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has advised the banking industry to be ready to do things that would aid Nigeria’s economic recovery.
Emefiele gave the advice at the 12th Annual Bankers Committee retreat with theme, “Building Resilience for Economic Growth’’, at Oriental Hotel, on Tuesday in Lagos.
According to him, the leadership of the banking sector need to prepare themselves to face and contend with the third or fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said that the retreat was an opportunity to find ways to strengthen and re-position the country for unforeseen challenges, though today, there were foreseen challenges.
“Today, the scientists have not been able to tell us that we are going to be out of COVID-19; the virus will continue to mutate, we will continue to see different countries adopt measures to protect their own, and in the midst of this, we as Nigerians, we that God has placed in our hands the leadership of this banking industry, we must gird our loins and stand strong to see that we do those things that will aid the recovery of our country.
“We must aim for not only a fast, balanced, and sustainable recovery, but also ensure that through improved access to finance, the fundamentals of our economy are strengthened,’’ Emefiele said.
He solicited their cooperation, stressing that despite the admittedly difficult times, no challenge was insurmountable for the determined, the cooperative, and the persistent.
The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-olu, urged the banking sector to focus its attention on the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) if it wanted to achieve sustainable growth.
“The best strategy to prepare for future jobs and achieve a sustainable growth and development is for us to pursue a very effective economic diversification in what we see as Small and Medium Enterprises.
“The pandemic has provided us an opportunity to focus our attention on critical sectors of the economy – Agriculture, Tourism, and Manufacturing etc, which will help us to grow our GDP,’’ Sanwo-Olu said.
