Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has said the Federal Government was
committed to ensuring that more Nigerians have easy access to financial
services and credit facilities, no matter where they are.
He stated this yesterday when a delegation led by Queen Maxima of the
Netherlands, in her capacity as the United Nations’ Secretary-General’s
Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, paid him a
courtesy visit at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Osinbajo further said that Nigeria will continue to do more in the
area of financial inclusion and ensure more Nigerians get access to
credit facilities.
He said, “Financial inclusion is not an option for us, it is
absolutely important for us and our economy. The convergence we are
having in the Social Investment Programmes of this administration, as
well as in agriculture, with smallholder farmers, is an indication of
our commitment.
“In the past two years, we have been working hard to ensure that more
Nigerians are financially inclusive. We are looking at engaging 500,000
unemployed graduates; we are also looking at getting the private sector
more involved. We want to achieve more.
“We need to be able to ensure that all of our people no matter where
they live, no matter how far away they are, can be reached with
financial products, have bank accounts; payment can be made to them,
they also can make payments.
“In other words, they can participate in the entire financial
architecture that the country and international community offer. That is
really important for development, and for their development as
individuals and communities.”
In her remarks, Queen Maxima stated that she was extremely pleased to
be visiting Nigeria for the second time in five years. She also said
she was glad that since 2008, Nigeria has made great progress, going
from 23 per cent to 48 per cent of financial inclusion, but urged
Nigeria to renew its commitment and leadership in financial inclusion.
She also praised the Buhari administration’s Economic Growth and
Recovery Plan (EGRP), noting that financial inclusion was a key element
to support the economic plan.
“Nigeria is a country of enormous potential where financial inclusion
should be playing a great role for your development. Having access to
savings, insurance, payments, credits can really move people out of
poverty.
“We have three years to get to a target of 80 per cent of financial
inclusion in Nigeria, and it will need a realistic strategy with a
concrete action plan with real priorities being set up,” she said
Queen Maxima’s delegation included the Ambassador of Netherlands to
Nigeria, Mr. Robert Petri; the UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr.
Edward Kallon; as well as partners from the World Bank, and the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation.
Others at the meeting were the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr
Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief
Audu Ogbeh; Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Hajia
Zainab Ahmed; Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Aisha
Jumai Alhassan; Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung; and the Special
Adviser to the President on Social Investment, Maryam Uwais.