Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN has urged bandits to drop their arms and embrace the Anchor Borrowers Program (ABP), a program that seeks to boost food production via farming in the country.
The CBN Governor stressed that there was a link between security and the economy, explaining that the high level of insecurity in the country will only worsen the economy, which will in turn have a negative impact on the populace. He made this known at a monetary policy committee meeting in Abuja.
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While emphasizing that the security agencies are tackling insecurity in the country, he said “efforts are now targeted at southeastern and northeastern parts of the country. About three years ago, the Nigerian government and the US signed a deal that resulted in an inter-government acquisition of military equipment of which 12 fighter jets are expected so as to tackle insecurity in the country.
“I am aware that six fighter planes would arrive in the country in July and August, and I would like to appeal to our brothers who are in the forests to please drop their weapons and embrace the anchor borrowers’ program. If they do so, it would help them but if they insist on terrorism, they would be confronted by the security forces, as the battle continues” he explained.
He also ensured that the security challenges bedeviling the country would subside towards the end of the year. According to the CBN, the focus of the ABP is to provide farm inputs to smallholder farmers in a bid to boost productivity which will address the country’s negative agricultural trend.
