The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Nigeria, made up of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Ministries of Finance, Budget and National Planning as well as Trade and Investment, at the weekend, went on two-day retreat in Abuja for monetary and fiscal collaboration in order to pull Nigerian out of economy recession.
The retreat, which was held at the CBN Corporate Headquarters, in Abuja, according to a statement from the CBN, is aimed at harmonizing the policy perspectives of the apex bank and the relevant ministries.
It was themed: “Pathway to Price Stability Conducive to Economic Growth.”
Speaking at the opening of the retreat, the apex Bank Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, stressed the need for the country’s monetary and fiscal authorities to collaborate and harmonize standpoints so as to develop the economy rapidly.
Emefiele, who is the chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee, said that the Retreat came at a period when the country faced serious economic challenges.
He said that finding a sustainable solution required a broadened participation of colleagues from the fiscal side.
He said that the retreat, as a brainstorming session, would provide perspectives on certain Monetary Policy Committee decisions.
He said that it would also close the gap on the coordination between monetary and fiscal authorities to chart a common course and take decisions to develop the economy.
In his remarks at the brainstorming session, which was for the first time, attended by a large representation of the fiscal authorities, the minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, said that both the monetary and fiscal Authorities had no choice but to work together to guarantee the country’s economic growth.
He said that the pathway to lower interest rate is to ensure that monetary and fiscal authorities collaborate with the private sector.
The minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun and her Industry, Trade and Investment counterpart, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, both agreed that solving challenges facing the Nigerian economy required unconventional tactics.
Adeosun, who said that there is still a huge number of unbanked Nigerians whose contributions to the economy are hardly captured, said that government must devise ways to bring them into the financial mainstream. She said that based on the current realities, the Federal Government would have to borrow more to meet its infrastructural obligation.
On his part, Dr. Enelamah emphasized stressed the need for both monetary and fiscal authorities to ensure business, market and investor confidence, as well as policy integrity in order to improve on the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
In her presentation entitled: “The Macroeconomic Trilemma and Monetary Policy in Nigeria,” the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Central of Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. (Mrs.) Sarah Alade said the onus of achieving the trilemma of low interest and exchange rates as well as low inflation should not entirely be the function of the monetary authority. Rather, she said it therefore necessitated the collaboration with fiscal authorities.
According to her, there is need for deliberate policies to ensure stability and engender growth in the economy. [myad]
