The Central Bank of Nigeria has raised the monetary policy rate, known as the interest rate, by 200 basis points percent to 24.75 per cent from 22.75 percent in efforts to tackle rising inflation.
The CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, made the confirmation on Tuesday at the 294th Meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee press briefing in Abuja.
The new interest rate is a 2% jump from the 22.75 percent announced by the MPC about a month ago and the second rate hike by the current committee.
According to him, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) is now at 45%.
The Apex bank boss said the move was to ensure that the country’s rising inflation rate, which stood at 31.70 percent in February, was moderated.
The Members noted the continued rise in headline inflation was driven largely by food prices because of supply shortages and high cost of logistics distribution,” Cardoso said. According to him, addressing food insecurity is key to containing current inflationary pressures.”
Cardoso said it was a tough decision to make but there was a consensus by the committee to progress with the tightening circle.
