The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday read the communique announcing decisions reached at its September meeting in the nation’s capital, Abuja.
The committee agreed to keep the Monetary Policy Rate at 14 percent, the Cash Reserve Ratio at 22.50 percent and the Liquidity Ratio at 30 percent.
Mr Emefiele explained that while challenges in the economy remain, monetary policy alone cannot boost growth. “Cutting interest rates is not advisable and the current stance will help to limit inflation,” he said.
The Minister of Finance had expected that the committee would lower key interest rates.
Speaking on Channels Television earlier in the day, Mrs Kemi Adeosun said that this would help stimulate the economy, especially as the government plans to boost the economy without increasing debt servicing costs.
At the last committee meeting in July, the benchmark Monetary Policy Rate was raised from 12 percent, to 14 percent, while the Cash Reserve Ratio and Liquidity Ratio were both retained, at 22.50 per cent and 30 per cent each.
Nigeria is currently in a recession after official data from the National Bureau of Statistic showed that its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted by 2.06 percent in the second quarter, sending Africa’s biggest economy into a recession after a decline in the first quarter.
