We Must Cut Down Our Import Bill, Says CBN Deputy Governor

By: Victor Awoleye

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has decried the amount spent in importing food into the country.

CBN Deputy Governor of Economic Policy, Mr Okwu Nnana, said this at a briefing with reporters on Monday in Abuja.

He described the rate of food import as worrisome, although the bank has taken measures to address it.

“We need to create jobs; we need to feed ourselves. A nation that cannot feed itself is a nation in the hang,” Nnana said.

He added, “We must cut down our import bill, we have seen our import bill rise from a couple of million dollars now into billions of dollars per annum.

“Our population by 2030 is frightening by every perspective. But wherever we have challenges, there are opportunities.”

According to the CBN deputy governor, the poultry meat sub-sector contributes about 25 per cent of agricultural Gross Domestic Product to the Nigerian economy, with a current net worth of about N1.6trillion.