N9.71trn intervention funds disbursed in 3 years, CBN claims

By Cynthia Ezekwe

The Central Bank of Nigeria said it has disbursed a total of N9.71 trillion through various interventions to support the sustenance of various sectors across the economy in the last three years.

Aishah Ahmad, the deputy governor, Financial System Stability Directorate of CBN made this known while discussing the importance of federal government interventions to the Nigerian Economy during the recently held 2022 Retreat for the Development Finance Department in Abuja.

A breakdown of the funds indicated that the manufacturing/industry sector had the highest allocation of 32.6 per cent, followed by energy/infrastructure and agriculture with 23. 1 per cent and 22.8 per cent allocations, respectively.

According to Ahmad, the efforts and interventions of the CBN have ushered in a lot of growth and impact, which have helped to combat extreme poverty, food insecurity and grow the agricultural sector and manufacturing base.

She however lamented that the poor recovery rate on some of the loans is a burden to the institution, and poses a risk of affecting the sustainability of the initiatives of the apex bank.

N9.71trn intervention funds disbursed in three years, CBN claims

To this end, Ahmad called on the beneficiaries of the loan to pay back, as she reminded them that the loan given to them was not a grant.

“We also try to empathise with all stakeholders that all of these are loans and not grants. It is important you pay back so that others can also get the same opportunity,’’ she said.

On his own part, Philip Yusuf, the director, Development Finance Department, said that the apex bank has played a major role in food security in the country, as the CBN intervention has saved the country from famine.

“For those looking at food inflation to discredit the work we have done in the development finance department, I just want to tell them that Nigeria is part of a global financial system and can be prone to global shocks.

“With the rising price of food, we would have faced severe famine if not for our interventions, and the agric-value chain has witnessed tremendous progress because of our interventions which we believe has set Nigeria on the path of sustainable food sufficiency,” he said.