The private sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) has announced the donation of N100 billion to boost the capacity of the nation’s security agencies in the fight against terrorism and other forms of insecurity confronting the country.
Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, announced the donation in Abuja at a dinner for the group chairman’s forum of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) from 20 African countries, London, Paris and United States of America.
“We have just put N100 billion together, private sector again, under this coalition to help fight insecurity or to support our security agencies, capacitise them to be able to deal with the issues we are having in the country on security,” Elumelu said.
Speaking on the successes recorded under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele-chaired coalition, Elumelu said members believe that if the security agents are well armed and protected, it will go a long way in helping to assure security in Nigeria.
The coalition is a private sector-led organization in Nigeria established to assist government in combating the Coronavirus disease in the country.
Also, CBN Governor, who spoke on the topic: Food Security, Job Creation and the Role of the Central Bank, highlighted the various legacy initiatives of the apex bank worth over N3 trillion that had been implemented to achieve food sufficiency and job creation in Nigeria.
For instance, Emefiele said, the CBN intervention in agriculture has ensured that rice production increased to over 7.5 million metric tonnes yearly, from less than four million metric tonnes recorded in 2015, prior to the introduction of Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP).
“There were only 15 standard rice mills in Nigeria before the launch of the Anchor Borrowers Programme. As of today, we have over 50 standard and integrated rice mills creating jobs and reducing unemployment,” he stated.
Quoting the figures by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations to wit, 282 million of Africans currently living with hunger, while 38 per cent, 494 million are either unemployed or underemployed, Emefiele said central banks and the financial system had critical roles to play in powering the solutions to the issues of food security and job creation on the African continent.
Emefiele said the belief of his administration is that investments in agriculture and related sectors, distribution and storage systems, and necessary market infrastructure are critical to build a cost-effective, viable and sustainable food system in Africa.
“The creation of the appropriate policy initiatives to address the identified challenges is a charge we at the Central Bank of Nigeria have championed with some positive results. We deployed some initiatives aimed at increasing food production, creating job opportunities and diversifying the economy,” he told the gathering at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja on Saturday night.
He said notwithstanding the growth in agricultural output and lending to the manufacturing sector, a lot of work still needs to be done to unlock growth in the critical sectors of the economy.