Forex Stability: CBN Shifts Focus to Strategic Planning – Cardoso

Olayemi Cardoso, the governor of the Central Bank, announced a shift from crisis management to strategic planning, aiming to stabilize forex.

After battling economic woes for six months, including high inflation and FX market turbulence, Cardoso shared this insight during a press briefing at the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC.

Transition Highlights:

• Central Bank now prioritizes improving Nigeria’s business environment.
• Efforts focus on fostering transparent markets to aid small businesses and households.
• Technology-driven solutions aim to reduce transaction costs and enhance financial inclusion.

Governor Cardoso underscored the importance of a collaborative approach with stakeholders to tackle challenges systematically, emphasizing orthodox monetary policies for economic stability.

Addressing Exchange Rate Fluctuations:

• Cardoso acknowledged the recent naira depreciation, attributing it to exchange rate volatility.
• He assured Nigerians of efforts to stabilize rates while promoting policy reforms.
• Positive responses from foreign investors signal confidence in Nigeria’s economic outlook.
• Doubling diaspora remittances remains a key short-to-medium-term policy goal for the CBN.

While specifics on remittance targets were not disclosed, the World Bank estimates Nigeria’s annual diaspora remittances at $20.5 billion.