CBN’s bold, far-reaching reforms strengthening economy – Cardoso

…Says ‘32 banks have so far met capital requirements’

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the implementation of bold and far-reaching reforms aimed at strengthening the nation’s economy against external shocks and restoring investor confidence.

Olayemi Cardoso, governor CBN, disclosed this while addressing participants during the CBN Day at the ongoing 37th Enugu International Trade Fair on Friday with the theme of the event, ‘Empowering MSMEs for Global Competitiveness,’ underscores the apex bank’s commitment to policies that support sustainable economic growth and development.

Cardoso, who was represented by Sidi Ali Makama, acting director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, noted that the theme aligns with the bank’s reform agenda and emphasised that micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) remain critical drivers of economic growth in any nation.

He further revealed that the ongoing bank recapitalisation exercise, scheduled to close on March 31, 2026, is making significant progress. According to him, as of March 17, 2026, a total of 32 banks had met the new capital requirements.

Cardoso added that approximately 28 percent of the capital raised so far has come from foreign investors, a development he described as a clear indication of renewed confidence in Nigeria’s financial system.

“The reforms have increased transparency and liquidity in the foreign exchange market. With the new Forex manual removing many restrictions, capital control and simplified trade and investment procedures, the CBN has also unveiled plans for a new payment system vision for Nigeria, aiming to position the country as a regional leader in digital and cross border payments,” he said.

According to him, “As part of the ongoing reform agenda, the bank is transitioning to inflation targeting, which is a significant shift towards a more transparent, forward looking and rules based monetary policy system anchored in long term price stability, the policy will also help shape market expectations and limits the disruptive effect of supply side shocks.

“It is gratifying and worthy of note that this reform anchored in Orthodox Monetary Policy, institutional transparency and market-driven foreign exchange frameworks have earned the CBN the Central Bank of The Year 2026 Award.

The award is part of the committee’s celebration of excellence among central banks globally.”

He emphasised that their fight against inflation has been steadfast, and the tight monetary policy stand adopted has played a key role in reducing headline inflation from a peak of 34.8% in May 2024, to 15.0% by the end of February 2026,”almost a 200% increase in capital and investment flows between 2023 and 2025 and an increase in excellent reserves from less than 10 billion US dollars to 50.45 billion US dollars, all this while maintaining our focus on achieving a single digit inflation in the near term.

“I wish to emphasise that the Central Bank of Nigeria remains dedicated to providing timely, credible and reliable information. Therefore, I will urge the members of the public to rely solely on information disseminated through the bank’s official and verifiable communication channels.”

The CBN also reaffirmed its steadfast
commitment to maintaining economic stability, advancing structural reforms and enhancing collaboration with “key institutional stakeholders and partners such as everyone present here today; we are also committed to ensuring the supply of clean notes in the appropriate mix, while calling on all Nigerians to see the naira as a critical symbol of our national identity. Please respect it. Do not mutilate or counterfeit the naira or spray. Always keep the naira clean.”

Nnanyelugo Onyemelukwe, president, Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA), commended the management of CBN for using the opportunity to explain to the business community the efforts it is making towards strengthening the economy and building the confidences of the people.

He however, asked the bank to ensure that the monetary policies are such that will stabilise the Naira and commend the recent reduction of interest rate, urging a further reduction of interest rate to a single digit rate.