FG to access N200bn coop societies fund trapped in CBN for 10 years

By The Citizen

The Federal Government has said it will begin to access the N200bn Cooperative Societies fund, which has been trapped in the Central Bank of Nigeria for 10 years.

Under the arrangement, which will take off soon at the zonal, state and local government levels, people will be able to establish small and medium scale businesses and rely less on the government for the provision of jobs.

Special Adviser to the President on Ethics and Values, Dr. Sarah Jibril, said this during the inauguration of the first batch of National Youth Vanguards on Ethics and Values and public presentation of the Code of Conduct handbook.

Both were initiatives of the Centre for the Promotion of Ethics and Values, a non-governmental organiation.

In her speech at the event, the Executive Director of CENPEV, Dr. M. J. Sokomba, regretted 'the continuous downward trend of morality due to breakdown of ethics and values, standards and accountability, which has been of great concern to many Nigerians.'

According to Jibril, the government cannot be 'talking to people and preaching ethics and values on empty pockets and empty stomachs.'

She said, 'Government must be accountable to the citizens through economic empowerment.

'The CBN has been holding the over N200bn because we have not been organised and have not been able to take off.  The CBN is, however, now happy that Nigerians have been able to organise themselves for this exercise.

'The N200bn is for economic activities. It will assist people to establish small and medium scale businesses.

'It is multiple; it is not only for social and economic development but also to make people self-reliant and to be actively useful to themselves, their families and the society at large.

'If people are too busy, they will have no time for crimes that will ruin their own businesses. We really have to emulate other countries of the world.

'Asia is moving from being a third world country to a developed nation because the government helps to develop the people through economic cooperative societies that will now make them to leverage on independence and self-reliance.'