The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has said that without fixing its security challenges, Nigeria cannot experience meaningful development.
He made this call in Maiduguri, Borno State while addressing members of the business community, banks, politicians, academicians, civil servants and the media at the take-off of the first CBN intervention programme initiative on national financial inclusion strategy and called for more workable approaches in tackling the security situation.
The programme is an initiative of the CBN in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology and Nigeria Postal Services (NIPOST) to boost socio-economic activities of Nigerians through the support of four banks, which will serve as funding agents for the scheme in the first three-six months for the targeted period of three years.
The CBN will contribute funds to the commercial and Islamic banksat interest-free to help the private sector drive the all-inclusive programme. Sanusi said the CBN would conduct seminars, monitor the implementation process and support banks to ensure that all the necessary services and activities get the priority of the agent banks.
He said that the programme would reduce the cost of airtime and postal services as more ATMs, post offices, bank branches and micro-finance banks would be established and funded across the state. In his remark, Governor Kashim Shettima urged the people to maximise the opportunity and praised the CBN and Bankers’Committee in piloting the programme in Borno in spite of its security challenges.