The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said it is strengthening the economy through its 37 intervention projects and other policies including the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), otherwise known as eNaira.
The apex bank stated this at the Editors Master Class organized by the Centre for Financial Journalism in Lagos, with the theme, ‘Central Bank of Nigeria Interventions as Fulcrum for Economic Diversification’.
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CBN spokesman, Osita Nwanisobi explained that these interventions were all responses to socio-economic situations and exigencies.
He said the CBN interventions span healthcare, agriculture, creative industry, infrastructure and other aspects of human endeavour.
Nwanisobi said the interventions reflect the vision of the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, whom he said had pledged to run a people-centric central bank upon assumption of office.
Nwanisobi said the interventions were, therefore, a conscious effort by the CBN to ensure that all Nigerians especially the ordinary folk’s benefit from the economy.
“These interventions do not just happen; they are well-thought-out responses by the CBN to exigencies. You would recall that when he assumed office in 2014, Mr. Emefiele promised to run a people-centric CBN and a financial system that would meet the needs of the average Nigerian,” he said.
Mr. Olabimtan Adebowale of the Development Finance Department of CBN in his presentation
said one of the interventions aimed at boosting local production and creating employment is “The 100 for 100 PPP – Policy on Production and Productivity”, he said commenced on November 1, 2021, and will roll over every 100 days with a new set of 100 companies.
On the eNaira, which was launched on October 25 by President Muhammadu Buhari to complement the physical naira and help deepen the digital economy space, Mr. Yusuf Abduljelil, another official in his presentation, said Nigeria was the first African nation to introduce a central bank digital currency and one of the early birds in the world.
During the master class, editors were able to onboard seamlessly to the eNaira platform. On the issue of hacking and vulnerability to compromise by cybercrooks, the CBN official explained that the eNaira platform has enough layers of encryption and integrity that insulate it from hackers.
Nigeria is currently among the top nations of the world with growing and robust e-payment systems. The eNaira will further boost the nation’s rating in e-transactions.
The editors then gave positive reviews who lauded CBN for the multi-layered security encryption of the digital currency.
