The House of Representatives Committee on National Planning and Economic Development has cautioned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) against the unintended consequences of maintaining high interest rates to curb inflation, as the CBN prepares for its 300th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on May 19–20, 2025, in Abuja. During a meeting with the Statistician-General of the Federation and CEO of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Adeyemi Adeniran, in Abuja, Committee Chairman Gboyega Isiaka highlighted the negative impact of the high interest rates on the manufacturing, agriculture, and small and medium enterprise (SME) sectors, which are vital for job creation.
Isiaka acknowledged that the current administration’s bold, market-oriented reforms have shown positive results, including a 100 percent surge in Nigeria’s capital market over the past two years, the CBN’s highest external reserves in over three years, and a N38.8 billion profit in 2024, a significant recovery from a N1.15 trillion loss in 2023. However, he noted that the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), raised 10 times since January 2023 from 16.5 percent to 27.5 percent, has not effectively curbed inflation due to structural bottlenecks and supply chain inefficiencies. Isiaka urged the CBN to adopt a more accommodative monetary stance at the upcoming MPC meeting to balance inflation control with the need to support economic growth and employment.
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