…Commissions €10m CBN-assisted Unilever factory
By Omodele Adigun
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has announced the jump in the country’s foreign reserves from $23billion recorded in October 2016 to $38.2 billion this month, just as he called on the private sector to support the Federal Government in job creation and poverty alleviation.
Emefiele, who disclosed this yesterday while commissioning the 10 million Euros CBN-assisted Blue Band margarine factory in Agbara, Ogun State, said the uptick in the reserves followed the aggressive foreign exchange management policies of the apex bank, which saw the reserves rise from where it used to be two years ago to $38.2 billion, while its intervention in the forex market has resulted in the inflows of over $10billion in the last seven months via the Investors and Exporters (I &E) window.
“And confidence has returned to the market at this time. In seven months we have seen over $10 billion inflows into the country between April and now.I am saying inflows that have come in not as foreign portfolio investments, but foreign direct investments, part of which is the factory we are commissioning today”, he added.
He explained that the plant was shut down and relocated to another country because of challenges which also saw two other companies around the Agbara Estate-Tumbler and glass factory and Flourescent and electricity plant- closing shop.
He attributed Blue Band factory’s reopening to the CBN intervention after his interface with the company’s Managing Director, Mr.Yaw Nsarkoh, who pledged to bring the company back to Nigeria.
“If tomorrow, we find investors that want to come back and reestablish that tumbler factory, count on us, we will support you. If we find a company that says it wants to come back and make fluorescent tube or electricity bulbs in this country, we will support you. There is no how we can create jobs for our people without the support of the private sector. The Federal Government or the CBN cannot do it alone.The support of the private sector is needed and very germain,” he stated.
Earlier, Nsarkoh, explained that the reoping of the plant was an example of both long term and multi-stakeholders’ approaches to business.
“The 10,000 capacity per annum plant started production last September.It is a new technology, and Nigeria is one of the first country globally that is using it on commercial basis,” Nsarkoh added.