CBN assures on improved access to finance, credit

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has reiterated the commitment of the apex bank to improve access to finance and credit facilities that would support the development of a viable healthcare infrastructure in the country.

Speaking at the premiere of the movie, Unmasked, at International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Oyo State Emefiele said addressing the public health crisis along with the downturn in the economy required strong coordination from both the monetary and fiscal authorities.

The 104 minutes feature documentary film on leadership, trust and COVID-19 in Nigeria was produced and directed by Femi Odugbemi and co-produced and presented by Ms. Kadaria Ahmed. 

Represented by the Ibadan Branch Controller of the CBN, Mrs. Olufolake Ogundero, he said the CBN, working with the Bankers Committee, put in place measures to support the growth of the creative industries in Nigeria.

Emefiele said: “Building a robust healthcare infrastructure was also vital from a security perspective, as some nations had imposed restrictions on the export of vital medical drugs, as well as the use of drug patents that could help in containing the spread of the pandemic. 

“As a result, we focused our interventions in the health care sector on three areas: building existing capacity of our healthcare institutions, supporting domestic manufacturing of drugs by businesses, and providing grants to researchers in the medical field, to encourage them to develop innovations that would address health challenges faced by Nigerians.”