Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Why government can’t open borders now, by CBN

By Anthony Otaru, Lokoja
25 October 2018   |   4:12 am
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele has said the porous nature of the nation’s entry points for indiscriminate importation of good...

Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele. / AFP PHOTO / PHILIP OJISUA

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele has said the porous nature of the nation’s entry points for indiscriminate importation of good and services prior to the restriction of foreign exchange for 41 items informed their closure in the first place.

Declaring open the 26th seminar for finance correspondents and business editors in Lokoja, Kogi State, the CBN boss said the borders were further closed to curb unemployment, reduce imported inflation as well as arrest insatiable taste for foreign goods.

The apex bank noted that the ban of 41 essential items was in line with modern day trade protectionist policy.

Represented by the bank’s Director of Monetary Policy Department, Moses tule, Emefiele noted: ‘’It was an eclectic policy carefully crafted with a view to reversing the multiple challenges of dwindling foreign reserves, contracting Gross Domestic Product (GDP)-recession and an embarrassing rise in the level of unemployment confronting the economy.”

According to him, the ban implementation alongside other complementary macroeconomic policies was to bail the nation out of recession.

His words: ‘’For example, the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 1.40 per cent in the third quarter of 2017 up from 0.72 per cent, and contraction of 0.91 per cent in the second and first quarters of 2017. Also, there has been improved reserve accretion to the country’s reserve.”

He explained that the salutary effects on the economy notwithstanding, it could be argued that trade protectionism was a form of pragmatic economic nationalism that impacts positively.

The CBN governor urged the media to enlighten the citizens on the subject matter.

‘’We believe our citizens would better appreciate the laudable efforts made by the monetary authorities in improving their lives,” he stated.

On the theme, monetary policy Implementation amidst global economic Protectionism, the Head of Banking and Finance Department, Nasarawa State University, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, warned against foreign loans that pose danger to the nation’s economy.

He noted that if more facilities must be taken, they should be deployed to the development of infrastructure.

0 Comments