The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, says that the Nigerian economic reforms are yielding visible results.
Speaking at the end of the Annual Meetings of the IMF/World Bank in Washington DC on Friday, Cardoso said that the reforms were placing the country on the path to stability, inclusiveness and innovation-driven growth.
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He explained that Nigeria’s active participation in the week-long sessions of the meetings demonstrated the country’s renewed credibility, fiscal discipline and reform momentum on the global stage.
According to him, the Nigerian delegation’s message of policy consistency and macroeconomic reform has been well received by global investors, development partners and financial institutions.
“This has been an active and forward-looking week for Nigeria.
“Amidst global uncertainty marked by slowing growth and volatile markets, our engagements here reaffirmed that Nigeria is moving in the right direction, towards macroeconomic stability, fiscal discipline, and inclusive growth,” he said
Cardoso said that the engagements reflected a new tone of confidence and constructive partnership and that there is a broad recognition that Nigeria’s reforms are delivering results, adding that Inflation is moderating.
“The exchange rate stabilised and investor confidence is returning,” he said.
He said that headline inflation fell for the sixth consecutive month in September to 18.02 per cent from 20.12 per cent in August, the lowest in three years.
According to him, core and food inflation also eased during the same period, reflecting the combined effects of disciplined monetary tightening, exchange rate unification, and improved market transparency.
He said that Nigeria’s foreign reserves now exceeded $43bn providing for 11 months of import cover.
“The naira has continued to strengthen with the gap between official and parallel market exchange rates narrowing to less than two per cent.
“These outcomes have been supported by sustained capital inflows, increased diaspora remittances and renewed investor participation across multiple asset classes,’” he added.
GIK/APA