Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has stated that the apex bank’s “decisive policy interventions” prevented inflation from surging to 42.81 percent in December 2024.
Cardoso made this remark at the 2025 monetary policy forum of the CBN on Thursday.
The event, held in Abuja, was attended by ministers, heads of departments and agencies, and private sector stakeholders.
For 2025, Cardoso emphasised the need for the CBN to remain committed to bold and coordinated policy measures to sustain economic progress.
The governor assured that the bank would continue to implement orthodox monetary policies to address inflationary pressures throughout the year.
He also projected that diaspora remittances would rise to N31.787 trillion once fourth-quarter (Q4) 2024 figures are released.
“Throughout 2024, the CBN implemented several bold policy measures across six Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meetings,” he stated.
“These included raising the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by a cumulative 875 basis points to 27.50 per cent, increasing the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) of Other Depository Corporations (ODCs) by 1,750 basis points to 50 percent, and adjusting the asymmetric corridor around the MPR.”
Cardoso highlighted that the CBN’s reforms had strengthened the financial system, unified the exchange rate, and delivered tangible economic benefits.
He revealed that remittances through international money transfer operators (IMTOs) surged by 79.4 percent in the first three quarters of 2024, reaching $4.18 billion, compared to $2.33 billion in the same period of 2023.
According to the CBN governor, the bank successfully cleared a backlog of foreign exchange (FX) commitments amounting to $7 billion, restoring market confidence and improving FX liquidity.
“We lifted restrictions on 41 items previously banned from access to the official FX market, a measure introduced in 2015,” Cardoso noted.
“We also introduced new minimum capital requirements for banks, effective from March 2026, to strengthen the resilience and global competitiveness of Nigeria’s banking sector, positioning it to support the ambition of a one-trillion-dollar economy.”
Cardoso also highlighted key policy initiatives such as the Women Initiative for Finance and Investment (WIFI), launched under the National Financial Inclusion Strategy.
He explained that WIFI aims to close the gender gap in financial access by empowering women through financial services, education, and digital tools.
Additionally, he pointed to the recently launched Nigeria Foreign Exchange Code, which he described as a significant step towards enhancing integrity, fairness, transparency, and efficiency in the FX market.
“Built on six core principles, the FX code represents a binding commitment from the financial community to rebuild trust and inspire confidence,” he said.
“These reforms reflect our commitment to creating an enabling environment for inclusive economic development.”
Cardoso stressed that achieving macroeconomic stability in 2025 requires continuous vigilance and a proactive monetary policy stance to manage inflation effectively.
He further noted that managing disinflation in 2025 would necessitate robust policies and close coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities to stabilise expectations and maintain investor confidence.
“Our focus must remain on price stability, the planned transition to an inflation-targeting framework, and strategies to restore purchasing power and ease economic hardship,” he said.
“As we move forward into 2025, I am optimistic that we have turned a corner and that disinflation is within reach. However, we must remain committed to bold, coordinated policy measures to consolidate our progress.”
Mohammed Abdullahi, Deputy Governor of Economic Policy at the CBN, also emphasised the importance of liberalising the foreign exchange market to unify a fragmented system and reduce speculation-driven premiums.
He noted that introducing a flexible exchange rate regime significantly reduced the average exchange rate premium from 62.33 percent between January and May 2023 to an all-time low of 0.10 percent by June 2023, marking significant progress towards market convergence.