Private sector alliance raises N100bn to fight against insecurity

With the help of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), a coalition of private sector players has raised N100 billion to aid security agencies in the fight against insecurity in Nigeria.

Mr Tony Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holding and the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group, revealed this over the weekend in Abuja during a dinner with UBA’s board of directors.

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 restrictions, the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID), a private-sector-led initiative, partnered with the CBN to raise over N60 billion to provide interventions, food, and vaccine support to help mitigate COVID-19’s effects on citizens and the economy.

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Elumelu said the group had revved up its interventions and was now intervening in providing security hardware to the security agencies in the country.

He said, “Just in case some don’t know, we set up isolation centres across the country. We spent less than N60bn. You go to the airport, you do your COVID-19 test and other activities around it.

“I think the most important thing was the move we made to open up the Nigerian economy once more. We made a strong move. We have no option, the economy would crash if we don’t do so. And there was so much pressure on the government.

“But the most important thing, I’m sure my members would not like me to talk about it, we have just put N100bn together, private sector again under this coalition to help fight insecurity or to support our security agencies’ capacities to be able to deal with the issues we are having in the country on security.”

The guest lecturer at the event, the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, who spoke on the topic: “Food Security, Job Creation and the Role of the Central Bank of Nigeria”, said on assumption of office as the CBN governor he ensured that the apex bank was noted for being a people-focused central bank where the decisions taken at the MPC must be those that impacted directly on the lives of the people.

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He said the objective was driven by some of the key challenges facing the Nigerian economy, one of which was “our heavy reliance” on revenues and foreign exchange earnings from the sale of crude oil.