President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed optimism that the Nigerian economy would bounce back strongly, given the well-planned policy responses to the economic challenges which are fall out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said his administration had implemented appropriate policies geared towards steadily addressing the challenges created by the pandemic.
President Buhari disclosed this while speaking at the 13th annual banking and finance conference in Abuja themed: “Facilitating Sustainable Future: The Role of Banking and Finance.”
He said, “So far, government has implemented a wide range of fiscal, prudential and monetary measures that squarely address four key necessities to ensure sufficient liquidity to support government programmes for saving lives and livelihoods, maintain stability of the financial system, ensure continued delivery of financial services to the public and shore up confidence, and cushion economic activities,’’ the president said.
Buhari stated that the banking system, which is a critical component of the financial sector, is not immune against the potential impact of the current economic situation as banks have to restructure potentially bad loans in every sector of the economy.
The president who was represented by the Minister of Finance and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, added, “With the current partial lifting of the lockdown, there are positive indications that some businesses are getting back to pre-pandemic levels. However, the uncertainty over the duration and intensity of the pandemic as well as its impact on the economy continues to be a cause for concern.’’
He said that the restructuring framework is expected to give durable relief to borrowers facing COVID-19- related distress, adding, “It is expected that in post COVID-19, the financial sector should return to normal functioning without relying on the regulatory relaxations and other measures as the new norm.’’
The President/ Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Mr. Bayo Olugbemi, in his address said the conference was organised to enable stakeholders brainstorm and come up with far- reaching recommendations to better position the banks to effectively play their roles that will impact on the economy positively at this critical time.