KANO – The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to promoting financial inclusion and stimulating productivity to drive sustainable economic growth and development in Nigeria.
CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, made this known during a fair organised in Kano to educate the public on policies designed to enhance livelihoods and encourage contributions to the nation’s economy.
Represented by the bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mrs. Hakama Ali, Cardoso highlighted the positive impact of new policies, including increased foreign investment inflows, improved trade balances, and notable progress in financial inclusion.
She identified key policies such as exchange rate unification, bank recapitalisation, the Nigeria Payments System Vision (PSV 2028), and the Unified Complaints Tracking System (UCTS).
According to Mrs. Ali, “The Management of the Bank, under the leadership of Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, is committed to stimulating productivity and financial inclusiveness, as well as delivering on its core mandate of monetary and price stability. These efforts have already started yielding positive results, which include increases of inflows of foreign investments, positive trade balances and remarkable progress in financial inclusion.
“Since assuming office two years ago, the Governor has spearheaded several key policies to strengthen the financial system. These include exchange rate unification to minimize arbitrage opportunities and reduce volatility in the foreign exchange market, clearing over $7bn verified backlog of FX forwards.
“Bank recapitalisation strengthens the resilience and global competitiveness of the banking sector, positioning it to support the $1trillion economy.
“Similarly, the bank launched the non-resident BVN to connect Nigerians abroad with home banking and unveiled the Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028 to accelerate digital transformation, deepen financial inclusion, and position Nigeria more strongly in global payments.
“To further protect banks’ customers and strengthen consumer confidence, the CBN launched the Unified Complaints Tracking System to streamline the management of consumer complaints against financial institutions. Alongside this, USSD code (*959#) was also introduced for verifying licensed institutions, and enhancing transparency in the Nigerian financial sector,” she added.
Mrs. Ali described the theme of the fair, “Driving Alternative Payment Channels as Tools for Financial Inclusion, Growth and Accelerated Economic Development,” as timely, highlighting its relevance to CBN’s broader vision of achieving price stability and expanding access to finance for millions of Nigerians.
“The fair serves as a platform to engage the public on CBN policies aimed at sustainable economic growth and national development,” she concluded.
