TheCable

Isaac Okorafor, acting director, communications at the Central Bank of Nigeria, says the bank’s development finance interventions has created seven million jobs.

Okorafor, who made this statement on Thursday at the Lagos International Trade Fair, said the bank had created five million jobs through its Agriculture Guarantee Credit Scheme and over one million through its Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme.

Other programmes which has also led to job creation according to the spokesman are micro small and medium scale enterprises development fund, its credit refinancing scheme and Anchor Borrowers’ Programme

He said the apex bank has continued to intervene in critical sectors of the economy to support efforts by the federal government.

Okorafor said there would be no Nigerian airline if not for the N300 billion Power and Airline Intervention Fund (PAIF), he says has created 7,899 direct jobs and 14,304 indirect jobs.

Okoroafor noted that the interventions in the agricultural sector has made the country almost self-sufficient in rice production.

“We are equally working with the federal ministry of agriculture and rural development to establish the accelerated agricultural development which aims at the pilot stage to create at least 10,000 jobs in each state of the federation.

“In order to provide access to finance for MSMEs, we have also facilitated the establishment of the National Collateral Registry (NCR) to ensure that MSMEs and the millions of budding g entrepreneurs across our court can use 30 moveable assets to raise finance.”