Dr. Chijioke Ekechukwu, an economic expert and former president of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, advised against further tightening of the Monetary Policy Rate MPR by the Monetary Policy Committee MPC of the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN. He expressed this view in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria NAN on Monday in Abuja, ahead of the 298th MPC meeting.
Ekechukwu compared the situation to treating an ailment with only one medication, arguing that continuous monetary policy tightening alone cannot solve Nigeria's inflation problem, as other factors have a stronger impact. He warned that further MPR increases would stifle the financial system, raising borrowing costs, which would ultimately burden consumers already facing economic hardships.
The MPC previously raised the MPR by 50 basis points to 27.25 from 26.75 in its 297th meeting in September. This marked the fifth consecutive rate hike since Yemi Cardoso became CBN governor and MPC chairman. Cardoso's tenure began with an aggressive hike of 400 basis points in February, followed by increases to 24.75 in March, 26.25 in May, and 26.75 in July.
