IMF says CBN’s inflation policies the way to go

The International Monetary Fund (IMF)said the efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) towards controlling inflationary pressure is the way to go in bringing down inflation rate.

Abebe Selassie, director, African department, IMF who said this at the ongoing IMF/ World Bank annual meetings in Washington, D.C. said adjustment to the very high inflation that seen on the exchange rate was still playing out.

“I understand also there’s been some, you know, shocks related to food prices, and the like. I think, frankly, just keeping on what the Central Bank has been doing over the last couple of years, continuing to bear down on inflation, to make sure that it can gradually decline, as the way to go,” he said.

Speaking during the African department press briefing, he said, “we don’t think that monetary policy is badly calibrated; far from it. So, I think just continuing, giving time for deflation to decelerate is what’s needed”.

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On fiscal policy, Selassie said it was important that the government increases non-tax revenues to be able to invest in the infrastructure the country needs in building, expanding university education, expanding health service coverage. He stated that governments need a lot of resources to facilitate a lot of the investment that the government needs to make.

“I think there’s also scope for reforms to make sure that you have a business environment that facilitates more private investments. And we discuss with the governments in trying to provide policy advice as much as we can”.

Responding to questions on border closure, he said, “our understanding is that the border has been closed, reflecting concerns about smuggling that’s been taking place, illegal trade, not the legal trade that you want to facilitate. So we’re very hopeful that discussions will resolve the challenges that this illegal trade is fostering.”

He said if the border closure was to be sustained for a long time it’s going to definitely have an impact on Benin and Niger, which of course, rely quite extensively on their big brother next door. “So, we hope that there will be a resolution to that”.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.