The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele has said in the next five years, the apex bank would aggressively pursue policies that will further diversify the Nigerian economy.

He said to drive a sustainable growth of the Nigerian economy the nation needs to significantly increase policy buffers, including fiscal measures to increase the external reserve.

Speaking at the University of Nigeria convocation, he said that Nigeria will also need to “diversify the revenue structure in order to rely much less on direct proceeds from sale of crude oil; proactive fiscal actions, specifically, infrastructure investment is required to enhance economic growth; Provision of cheap financing to boost local production of priority goods in critical sectors of the economy in order to reduce reliance on foreign imports.  

“Universities have a considerable role to play in working with the private and public sectors in supporting research and development of solutions that can be applied to enhance the growth of the Nigerian economy. In addition, they will also have to enhance their curriculum, so students are well equipped with the skill sets that are required to support Nigeria’s growth in this digital era”.

He further said “Building on measures implemented by the fiscal and monetary authorities towards addressing the constraints of farmers, SMEs and manufacturers will be critical in order to drive sustainable growth of the Nigerian economy and reduce our reliance on proceeds from the sale of crude oil.