The CBN dialogue with the NESG was convened to effectively consider strategies to strengthen the apex bank’s recent monetary policies
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has hosted a dialogue with the Organised Private Sector (OPS) and the apex bank’s leadership to explore strategies for enhancing Nigeria’s financial sector, especially recent monetary policies.
The dialogue, which was held at the bank’s Lagos office during the week, focused on exploring how broad-based monetary policy communication and guidance can positively influence the global investment community’s perception of Nigeria and on determining the right bundle of monetary policies and interventions to increase the growth of the productive sector.
A statement from the CBN said the need for improving monetary policy communication and guidance to positively influence the global community’s perception of Nigeria infomed the convening. The statement said the CBN Governor, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, emphasised the importance of private sector input in shaping economic policy.
“The private sector is a critical engine of our economy, this meeting underscores our commitment to working collaboratively with stakeholders to create a more robust and investor-friendly financial environment,” he was quoted to have said, adding that the bank would continue to improve monetary policy communication through forward guidance to domestic and foreign investors.
He assured the private sector leaders of the bank’s commitment to building trust, ensuring price stability, and implementing monetary policies to support economic growth, improve stability in foreign exchange rates, and effectively moderate inflation.
He further assured that despite current drawbacks, the bank has consistently improved foreign exchange (FX) supply while protecting the interests of all parties in the economy and stressed the importance of restoring confidence and trust in the Nigerian economy for all investors.
Mr. Cardoso noted that the policy measures deployed by the CBN aims to build a transparent economy that will boost investors’ confidence and improve the country’s business environment.
The statement noted that the CBN presented a detailed explanation of the economy’s trajectory and the reasons behind the recent aggressive Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) hikes while highlighting the deceleration of month-on-month inflation and expectations of moderation in headline inflation going into the third and fourth quarters of 2024.
In his remarks, the President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. Francis Meshioye, appreciated the CBN’s open dialogue and interest in ensuring the manufacturing industry and other organized private sector actors are abreast of monetary policies.
Other stakeholders at the meeting also pledged to establish a framework for collaboration and consistent interactions with the top leadership of the OPS to harmonize economic policy and guarantee the CBN’s effective support of the private sector in partnership with the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG).
