The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has assured Nigerians of better days ahead, projecting that the country’s economy will hit $1 trillion by 2030.
During a presentation to the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions on Friday, Cardoso outlined the CBN’s plans and reviewed Nigeria’s economic performance for the first half of 2024.
Cardoso highlighted the CBN’s efforts since he took office in October 2023, focusing on economic stabilization, financial market confidence, and sustainable growth. The Nigerian economy showed resilience in early 2024, with a growth rate of 2.98% in the first quarter, up from 2.31% last year. The Services Sector led this growth, contributing 58.04% to GDP with a 4.32% growth rate, while the Industrial sector grew by 2.19%.
Addressing inflation, which rose from 29.90% in January to 34.19% in June 2024, Cardoso noted that monthly increases had slowed, indicating the effectiveness of the CBN’s measures. He also pointed out improvements in the foreign exchange market, with the spread between official and BDC rates narrowing significantly.
Cardoso reported an increase in external reserves to $36.89 billion by mid-July 2024, capable of financing over 11 months of imports. The banking sector showed stability with improvements in capital adequacy, liquidity, and non-performing loan ratios.
The equity market also performed well, with the All-Share Index rising by 33.81% and market capitalization growing by 38.33% from December 2023 to June 2024, reflecting increased investor confidence.
Cardoso emphasized the CBN’s commitment to sustaining these positive trends through vigilant policy implementation. Measures to combat inflation include raising the policy rate to 26.25%, increasing Cash Reserve Ratios, and adopting Inflation Targeting as the new monetary policy framework. The CBN has also taken steps to ensure the banking sector’s stability, including intervening in three banks, revoking Heritage Bank’s license, and enhancing supervision.
In his opening remarks, Committee Chairman Senator Adetokunbo Abiru stated the purpose of the interaction was to update the committee on the CBN’s monetary policy efforts and plans.
