The National Economic Council (NEC) has charged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido to do everything possible to lower interest rates to boost economic activity.

It was disclosed that the National Economic Council after meeting with the CBN Governor at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday express its concerns over current credit squeeze in the banking sector following the recent intervention of the apex bank in the banking industry that culminated in the injection of about N620 billion bail out into nine troubled banks.

"The council urged the CBN to do everything possible to bring down the interest rate in the country to make funds available to manufacturers to energise the sector," a source from the presidency said.

The Central Bank last week left its benchmark interest rate (MPR) at 6.0 percent, but altered its two percent corridor for loans and deposit rates to encourage lending.

Private sector credit outstripped government spending for the first time last year, but that credit included loans to stock market speculators and fuel marketers which have since turned bad.

The CBN intervention in the banking sector included sacking of the chief executives and directors of the nine troubled banks.

The apex banl last week also threatening to sack any of the bank directors who is owing bad loans to either their banks any other bank or any of the financial institution in the country.

The banks year end results which most of them have released in compliance to the CBN directive, is showing that they are all in big trouble in view of billions of naira they are losing to bad loans.

Analysts say the immediate solution lies on the asset management company which the CBN plans to float.

The National Economic Council has the vice- president as its chairman.