By Adedapo Adesanya
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has postponed the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting scheduled to hold next week.
In a statement, the apex bank noted that the MPC meeting, which was supposed to take place on Monday, September 25 and Tuesday, September 26, 2023, has been postponed until further notice.
This is coming less than a week after President Bola Tinubu nominated Mr Olayemi Michael Cardoso to take over the role from Mr Folashodun Shonubi, who is filling the role following the ousting of Mr Godwin Emefiele, who is currently held in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Mr Cordoso’s appointment for a five-year term will require confirmation by the Nigerian Senate, which will resume from recess on Tuesday, September 26.
In addition, four people were nominated as deputy governors.
Business Post understands that this postponement is to allow the first order of business for Mr Cardoso to be at the MPC meeting.
The CBN, at its meeting in July, raised the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 25 basis points to 18.75 per cent from 18.00 per cent.
There have been calls for the CBN to pause the rate hike amid a rise in inflation since the decision to increase it by more than 700 basis points in the last few months hasn’t slowed down the index.
One of such calls came from the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), which advised the committee to hold rates at their current levels to relieve Nigerians of the pressure on the supply side following a further surge in the inflation rate.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed last Friday that the average cost of goods and services rose by 25.80 per cent in August 2023 from 24.08 per cent in July 2023.
The chamber explained that the increased inflation rate represents 1.72 per cent points higher than the previous month and 5.28 per cent points when compared to 20.52 recorded in the corresponding month in 2022.
Modupe Gbadeyanka