Taiwo Popoola
The World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund have told the Central Bank of Nigeria how to win a fight aimed at tackling the country’s inflation.
This comes as the World Bank and IMF said the apex bank must stick to orthodox methods of tackling inflation, which stood at 34.80 percent in December 2024.
The Senior Economist for Nigeria, World Bank Group, Dr. Sameer Matta, and Nigeria Country Representative, International Monetary Fund, Dr. Christian Ebeke, made this known at the launch of the 2025 Macroeconomic Outlook of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group themed: ‘Stabilisation in Transition: Rethinking Reform Strategies For 2025 and Beyond.’
Speaking during a panel session at the event, Matta said, “I think what is critical in terms of inflation is to stay the course.
“I think that the central bank needs to continue to be focused on making sure that inflation is under control. Part of it is related to the supply side.
“What can be done to improve the yield on the agriculture side? What can be done to improve the link between the rural areas and the urban areas?
“There is the question of what can be done on the trade policy side. One would be to increase production locally, but that would take time.
“One of the things that can be done on the trade policy side is to think through which sectors could be targeted to allow some tariffs to be adjusted.”
On her part, Ebeke reinstated calls for coordination between the fiscal and monetary authorities.
He said, “It’s important that efforts to bring inflation down by the fiscal authorities are being done in the context of better coordination.
“For example, one of the key decisions that took place last year was the commitment by both the central bank and the fiscal authorities to strengthen coordination.
“We didn’t see Ways and Means accrue again as we have seen in the past year in Nigeria, and it was welcome.
“This is something that should bring inflation down by tightening financial conditions but also by reducing money in circulation.”
“The other important thing for the fiscal authorities to do is to tackle any distribution consequences of the reforms that have been implemented,” Ebeke said.
DAILY POST reports that since the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Olayemi Cardoso assumed office, the Monetary Policy Committee has continued to raise interest rate aimed at tackling inflation.
Nigeria’s interest rate was raised from 18.75 percent at the end of 2023 to 27.50 percent in November 2024.
While CBN believed its efforts were yielding results, financial experts such as the Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprise have called for a pause.
