A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) has urged Nigerians to take advantage of the numerous economic intervention programmes introduced by the federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Leader of the coalition, Williams Etuk, made the call during his welcome address at the seventh National Economic Summit, which was organised by the group in Abuja.
The theme of the summit was ‘Post Covid-19: Understanding the Economic Intervention of CBN and the Roles of Civil Society Group’.
The coalition is made up of over 100 non-governmental organisations advocating good governance, and public accountability.
Development Diaries understands that a recent National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report on Nigeria’s unemployment rate indicated that unemployment rose to 27.1 percent in the second quarter of 2020 from the 23.1 percent recorded in Q3 2018.
Furthermore, available statistics shows that about 87 million Nigerians, or half the population, live on less than US$1.90 per day.
Global spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent collapse of international oil prices have destabilised Africa’s largest economy.
‘The major interventions by the CBN includes Accelerated Agriculture Development Scheme, Agri-Business, Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme, Real Sector Support Facility, Credit Support for Health Sector and Creative Industry Financing Initiative and many others’, Etuk said.
‘We call on Nigerians, especially the youths to access these interventions to boost the economy and enhance their standard of living. This will go a long way to also boosting our GDP and strengthen our currency’.
Source: Daily Sun
Photo source: Zouzou Wizman
