The Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee has retained all economic parameters from the first quarter, including the interest rate at 27.50 per cent.
The announcement was made by the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, after the committee’s meeting held on May 19 and 20.
The Committee had at its 299th meeting held on 19th and 20th February 2025, decided to retain the MPR at 27.50 per cent, retain the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +500/-100 basis points, retain the Cash Reserve Ratio of Deposit Money Banks at 50.00 per cent and Merchant Banks at 16 per cent, and retain the Liquidity Ratio at 30.00 per cent.
While relating the decision of the MPC on Tuesday, Cardoso referenced the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) inflation rate for April, pegged at 23.71%.
According to NBS, the annual inflation rate fell to 23.71% in April 2025, from 24.23% in the prior month. Food inflation, the largest component of the inflation basket, remained elevated but moderated to 21.26% from 21.79% in March, mainly on account of prices of some items such as maize, wheat, yam and wheat.
The CBN Governor said food inflation remained moderate in April, commending the federal government for implementing measures to increase food supply, as well as stepping up the fight against insecurity, especially in farming communities.
“The MPC encourage security agencies to sustain the momentum while the government provides necessary protection to farmers to further boost local food production,” he said.
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The committee, however, acknowledged underlying inflation pressures driven by high electricity prices, persistent foreign exchange demand pressure, and other legacy structure factors.
The MPC also noted new policies introduced by the federal government to boost local production, reduce foreign exchange demand pressure, and lessen the pass-through of higher rates to domestic prices.
“Given the relative stability in the foreign exchange market, members urge the bank to sustain the implementation of the ongoing reforms to further boost the economy,” Cardoso said.
The CBN said the economy is now stable, urging private individuals interested in investing in the economy to take the bull by the horn.
“The inflation numbers speak for themselves. The overall trajectory is in the right direction. There is no one solution to solve the economic challenges. What will solve the problem is a multiplicity of overall efforts.
“The journey will begin to yield greater results as time goes on, given the relative stability in the foreign exchange market,” he said.
He added that the naira is more competitive – “this should encourage more exports if we continue in the trajectory. I am very optimistic.”