The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) says that the Monetary Policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has failed to curb the rising inflation in the economy.

The Association, therefore,  urges the apex bank to think outside the conventional monetary policy framework and take pragmatic steps to quell the inflationary pressure and reposition the economy.

Reacting today, to the CBN’s Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) which raised to 18.5 percent in May 2023 from 18 percent, MAN said : ” This MPR increase is the 7th in a trend and the inflation rate continues to rise despite the increases.

Segun Ajayi-Kadir, its Director-General, said that this is a clear indication that the policy tightening is not effective in curbing the inflationary pressures and more needed to be done.
What Should Be Done?
” It is evident that the continuous and consistent increase in MPR is not yielding the desired growth in the economy.

” The Nigerian economy remains fragile and bedeviled with numerous challenges that inhibit growth. Therefore, the monetary authority needs to pay closer attention to rethink the policy mix, bearing in mind the parlous state of the economy, especially the effect of a high MPR on the manufacturing sector and the economy.

The increase in MPR from 18% to 18.5% will certainly lead to an increase in lending rates and worsen the uncompetitiveness of the manufacturing sector.

The Association has been clamoring for single-digit lending rates to allow manufacturers access needed funds to boost the performance of the sector.

This increase, like the previous ones, is evidence that the CBN is either unperturbed about the plight of the productive sector or is unable to fathom out a more creative policy mix that would reflate the sector.

We are persuaded that monetary authority is oblivious of the fact that the failure of its  tightening policy to address the inflationary pressure is because the hike in inflation is largely caused by a combination of familiar challenges, including low output which is attributed to instability of macroeconomic variables, inconsistent and lackluster fiscal policy regime, incoherent industrial policies, challenging and expensive operating environment, exploitative regulation, external shocks and poor exchange rate management.

Therefore, there is a need to address the identified root causes of inflation and refrain from intensifying policy choices that hamper the performance of the real sectors of the economy.

Interrelationship Among  Interest Rate, Inflation Rate and Exchange Rate

The movements of interest rate, inflation rate and exchange rate have direct impact on investment, employment and output of any economy.

In the conventional monetary framework that was adopted by the CBN, increase in MPR should increase interest rate and by extension attract financial investment.

However, it will also increase the cost of borrowing, crowd out more investments in the real sector and lower the output of the manufacturing sector,  ” said the Director-General.