The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has beaten it’s chest to say that its decisive monetary policy actions in restoring price stability and anchor have been responsible for the sustained decline in the nation’s inflation, a reversal from the inflationary peak of 34.19 percent in June 2024.
The apex Bank said that it raised its Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) from 18.75 percent to 27.50 percent through a sustained tightening cycle, while increasing the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) to 50 percent for commercial banks and 16 percent for merchant banks.
“At its September 2025 meeting, the Bank eased slightly, lowering the MPR by 50 basis points to 27.00 percent and the CRR for commercial banks to 45 percent, while maintaining a firm anti-inflationary stance.”
In a statement, the apex Bank spokesperson, Hakama Sidi Ali stressed that monetary tightening was complemented by reforms in the foreign exchange market, including exchange rate unification and enhanced transparency to improve price discovery in the market.
She said that naira has since stabilized, spreading between the official and Bureau de Change (BDC) rates and narrowing to below two percent.
The statement said that the Bank also improved liquidity in the FX market, reducing imported inflation and reinforcing price stability.
“Foreign reserves remain above $43 billion, providing more than eleven months of forward import cover, supported by sustained forex inflows.”
The CBN vowed its commitment to strengthening the disinflation trend,
supported by a combination of exchange rate stability, durable improvements in food supply and continued moderation in petroleum product prices.
Governor of the CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, at the ongoing Annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, said: “We expect inflation to continue to trend downward in the near term, supported by tight monetary conditions, a stable naira, and increased food supply.”
This came on the heels of the pronouncement by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that the nation’s Inflation had fallen to 18.02% in September.
It said that inflation rate fell for the sixth consecutive month in September, easing to 18.02 percent, its lowest level in three years.
It said that the core inflation slowed to 19.53 percent, even as food inflation moderated to 16.87 percent over the same period.
