…As World Bank charges FG to stop relying on foreign funds
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed the determination of his administration to leave a legacy of inclusive growth through financial inclusion, when his tenure ends on May 29, 2023.
This was as the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has set a new target to achieve 95 per cent financial inclusion by 2024 to ensure that every Nigerian has access to financial services.
Consequently, the Federal Government has launched a revised National Financial Inclusion Strategy, which would provide direction for financial inclusion in Nigeria in the coming years.
Meanwhile, the World Bank has charged the government to prioritise funding of statistical surveys in the country given the importance of data in national development.
Speaking at the 2022 International Financial Inclusion Conference yesterday in Abuja, the President noted that the Government was aware that achieving financial inclusion goals would further boost the economic fortunes of Nigeria, adding that his administration remains committed to providing continuous support to all financial inclusion stakeholders institutions in the public and private sectors.
The President, who was represented by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mohammed Musa Bello, said his administration understands the impact of financial inclusion on economic growth and development and as such, has provided the enabling policy environment for financial inclusion initiatives to yield the expected results.
The President urged the stakeholders to consider the conference as an opportunity to address pressing national issues affecting the vulnerable and most excluded segments of our society, and come up with innovative ideas on how to accelerate financial inclusion.
Earlier, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, noted that financial inclusion was key to economic development and inclusive growth, noting that various up-to-date types of research and painstaking analyses show a positive correlation between the financial inclusion rate of a country and its GDP growth.
Emefiele observed that financial inclusion was imperative to ensure sustainable development and growth in the Nigerian economy, adding that the Bank was exploring ways to address the high financial exclusion rate in Nigeria.
According to him, an infrastructural deficit like low broadband penetration, lack of a functional national identity system and high cost of delivering financial services through bank branches to the underserved contributed to Nigeria’s financial exclusion situation.
Emefiele stated that over 59 policies and initiatives had been implemented by stakeholders to achieve the objective of financial inclusion from 2012 to date, explaining that the policies and initiatives cut across the banking sector, the insurance sector, the capital market, the pension sector and institutions responsible for infrastructural development for financial inclusion.
Emefiele noted that the nation’s financial inclusion journey has been successful, disclosing that the CBN was aiming at achieving a bigger target and a set of big priorities.
He urged all stakeholders of financial inclusion in Nigeria to join hands together and work in collaboration and drive implementation to ensure the achievement of the 95 per cent financial inclusion as outlined in the new National Financial Inclusion Strategy.
Speaking during the National Sensitisation Workshop for the Nigeria Labour Force Survey (NLFS) and National Living Standards Survey (NLSS) 2022/2023 in Abuja, the Country Director, World Bank, Nigeria, Mr. Shubham Chaudhury, underscored the importance of data to national development, urging the government to give it a front line charge in its priority list.
