Market News

By Chinwendu Obienyi and Adanna Nnamani

 Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday stated that its ongoing policy tightening and structural reforms are beginning to filter through to the broader economy, helping to stabilise the naira and ease lending rates as inflation continues to moderate.

Speaking in Lagos at a seminar for members of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN), Emem Usoro, the bank’s deputy governor for Corporate Services, said recent monetary policy actions reflect a deliberate strategy to restore macroeconomic stability after years of fiscal and external pressures. She was represented by Hakama Sidi Ali, acting director of the bank’s Corporate Communications Department.

Usoro noted that when Governor Olayemi Cardoso and his team assumed office two years ago, Nigeria faced acute macroeconomic vulnerabilities: inflation was surging, the naira was volatile amid persistent foreign-exchange shortages, external reserves were weakened, and the financial system was burdened by large FX backlogs and heavy reliance on Ways and Means financing from the federal government. Those conditions, she said, underscored the urgency of disciplined and well-sequenced reforms.

Since then, the CBN has implemented a series of measures aimed at tightening compliance, improving bank governance and advancing its ongoing recapitalisation programme. According to Usoro, these initiatives, aligned with the government’s broader economic reforms, have helped deliver early signs of progress. 

She said inflation has eased to 16.05 per cent, the exchange rate has stabilised below N1,500/$1 with reduced volatility, and external reserves have risen above $46 billion, providing more than 10 months of import cover.

These developments reflect the commitment and focus of the Bank’s leadership in restoring stability to the financial system,” she said, adding that lower lending rates are emerging as one of the tangible outcomes of the CBN’s policy trajectory.

Usoro underscored the media’s role in shaping public understanding of the reforms, saying clear communication is essential to sustaining support for policy measures that may take time to yield full benefits.

While acknowledging progress, she cautioned that more work remains to entrench macroeconomic gains and improve living standards.

“The alignment of fiscal and monetary policies is indispensable at a time when technological innovation and digital finance are rapidly transforming the financial landscape,” she said. Better policy coordination, she added, will strengthen financial-system resilience, promote transparency and support more durable economic outcomes.

Usoro expressed confidence that the seminar would yield practical recommendations to strengthen policy coordination. She said the central bank would study the proposals and work toward implementing those that can support long-term economic stability.

She thanked participants and reiterated the apex bank’s commitment to ensuring Nigerians remain well informed about policy decisions and their implications for the economy.

Giving his opening remarks, branch controller, CBN, Lagos, Diabo Amorighoye, said that that Nigeria’s current economic environment demands coherence between fiscal and monetary authorities.

He warned that policy misalignment can weaken investor confidence, heighten inflationary pressures and undermine growth. Conversely, a harmonised framework, he said, can deepen financial markets, support inclusive development, stabilise the naira and boost external reserves.