Coalition Hails CBN’s Gov Over Increasing Lending Rate To 17.5%

A coalition of Civil Society Organizations, CSOs, under the auspices of Coalition of Civil Society on Good Governance (CCSGG) has hailed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, over lending rate of 17.5 per cent to contain current inflationary trend.

CBN on Tuesday raised its benchmark lending rate to 17.5 per cent in an aggressive push to contain the nation’s inflationary pressure.

A statement signed by the president, CCSGG, Bassey Etuk, and secretary, CCSGG, Abubakar Ibrahim, respectively, noted that the Nigerian economy has been sustained due to laudable policies by the CBN governor over the years.

The statement reads in part, “The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations on Good Governance hails the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, over pushing lending rate to 17.5 per cent to contain inflationary impact on the economy.

“This is a step in the right direction because this lending rate will cushion the impact on the nation’s economy and reduce the pressure on Nigerians.

“We support the policies by the CBN Governor, and we will educate other Nigerians about these policies because it is for their good and wellbeing including unborn Nigerians,” the statement said.

The statement also maintained that the CBN governor is doing everything possible to stabilize the economy and sustain it on the path of growth and development despite some disgruntled elements are misinterpreting his policies.

“We want to let Nigerians know that he (Emefiele) is tirelessly working to stop sponsors and perpetrators of money laundering with the recent new Naira design that threw corrupt Nigerians off balance who have cooked up stories and unfounded allegations to bring his image and personality to disrepute and also involving some security agencies through the backdoor to arrest him but all their plots and efforts have been dashed into shambles.”

The coalition added that they would do everything possible to ensure the policies of the Emefiele-led CBN are implemented for the benefit of Nigerians.

It would be recalled today (Tuesday) the CBN raised its lending rate to 17.5 per cent to contain the current inflation trend.

The CBN governor Emefiele had earlier disclosed this after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting that began Monday.