CBN Committed to Producing Economic Citizens – Emefiele

 

The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, CON, has restated the Bank’s commitment to create an enabling environment for producing economic citizens in Nigeria capable of positively contributing to the economic growth and development of the Nigeria.

 

Mr. Emefiele stated this in a keynote address at the Child and Youth Financial Literacy Summit held at the Bank’s auditorium on Wednesday, March 11, 2015, as part of activities marking this year’s Global Money Week.

 

Addressing the enthusiastic children and youth drawn from select schools across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Governor said the Bank’s financial literacy initiatives were specifically targeted at that demography of Nigerians to ensure their inclusion in the banking population.

 

While recalling that the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan launched the National Financial Inclusion Strategy in 2012, in furtherance of the Maya Declaration on financial inclusion, he reiterated that the target was to reduce financial exclusion rates in Nigeria from the 2011 figure of 46.3 percent to 20 per cent by 2020.

 

Mr. Emefiele therefore stressed the need to increase the financial capability of children and youth as well as improve their access to financial services appropriate to their needs.

 

Earlier in her remarks, the Director, Consumer Protection Department, Hajiya Umma Aminu Dutse, said the primary objective of the event was to increase economic citizenship of children and youth between the age of 8 and 18, by enhancing their knowledge and ability to make wise financial decisions, the ability to accumulate savings, and the skills to find employment, earn a livelihood and ultimately break the cycle of poverty.

 

The Governor thereafter proceeded to the atrium of the Bank’s head office where he declared open the Financial Literacy Fair and Exhibition.

 

The event attracted Departmental Directors, students and teachers from 12 schools from within the FCT as well as staff of the CBN and some Deposit Money Banks in the country.

 

Meanwhile, Junior Secondary School, Garki emerged the winner of the Entrepreneurial Project Competition, carting home the sum of N200,000 with its “The Blind Must Read” project, which involved the use of waste materials such as calendars and papers to produce braille textbooks for the blind.

 

Government Girls Secondary School, Abaji and Government Day Secondary School, Dutse Alhaji emerged first and second runners up, respectively with cash prizes of N150,000 and N100,000, respectively.

 

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