Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, governor-nominee, Mr. Godwill Emefiele, yesterday unveiled his economic blueprint for the country as he scaled through the Senate’s screening.
Emefiele who received a barrage of questions from Senators at the session, said he would not devalue the naira when he assumes office because it would hurt the economy.
Emefiele said he would follow due process in all his conduct and refrain from working at cross purpose with the Federal Ministry of Finance and related organizations to stabilize and grow the economy.
Also yesterday, the Senate confirmed Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa as President of the Court of Appeal..
Emefiele assured Nigerians that he would do everything within his jurisdiction to ensure economic stability, which would facilitate economic growth and development.
“I am aware that the core mandate of the CBN is to achieve the monetary and price stability. Another core mandate of the CBN is to ensure that we have a strong currency and build strong foreign reserves. We are also expected to ensure that we have a strong financial system in Nigeria.
“Against the backdrop of this mandate, we would work very hard to ensure that we achieve macro-economic stability in this country where inflation rate shall be seen to continue to come down; where interest rate shall be seen to continue to come down, and where we would as much as possible continue to maintain a strong exchange rate for the country and build a strong foreign reserve,” he said.
Emefiele continued: “We would ensure that if approved, that whatever monetary policy decision that would be taken would be those that would improve the level of employment in Nigeria because we know that employment is very important. We know today that we have an employment emergency in Nigeria. And we must ensure that whatever decisions we take at the CBN, in the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) would be those that would lead to improvement in the level of employment in Nigeria.”
He, however, promised that amongst the monetary and other economic measures he would introduce to strengthen the economy, devaluation of the naira would never be contemplated because it is harmful to the economy.
“Devaluation will hurt the economy. So, devaluation will not happen because it will hurt the economy; people will lose their jobs, inflation will be high and some industries will close down,” he stated.
Emefiele, who is the current Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Nigeria Plc, said that he would work with the manufacturers and other stakeholders to revolutionise the economy, and shift it from its current import-dependent status to a productive economy.
To achieve the desired growth and development in the economy, Emefeile insisted that there must be collaboration and harmony between the Federal Ministry of Finance and the CBN in the handling of the monetary and fiscal policies.
He urged the Senate to take cognizance of what obtains in other climes whenever they plan to tinker with the CBN Act in order not to isolate the country from the international best practices. (SEE TRANSCRIPT OF EMEFIELE’S SCREENING SESSION WITH SENATORS ON PAGES 45 & 46)
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