Business

MAN Tasks CBN On Monetary Policy Failures To Curb Inflation

Published

3 years ago

May 25, 2023

588 Views

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.

Business

Investors Rush For Airtel Money IPO on LSE

Airtel Money is proving popular among retail investors ahead of full admission next week.

Published

23 hours ago

October 9, 2026

OCHEFA

10 Views

Airtel Money began conditional trading on the London Stock Exchange this morning in a £5.3 billion market debut, dubbed Africa’s Revolut.

Shares, which were open only to investors allocated stock in the offer, were trading flat at around 194p.

But armchair investors are rushing to sign up to the City’s largest IPO in five years ahead of full admission on October 14.

It is the ninth most popular initial public offering on AJ Bell’s investment platform based on the number of customers applying to take part in the offer, it said.

Airtel Money is proving popular among retail investors ahead of full admission next week

Airtel Money, a subsidiary of Airtel Africa, which offers mobile payment services in 13 countries across Africa, is a subsidiary of FTSE 100 telecoms group Airtel Africa, whose shares have trebled in less than two years.

Business

JUST IN: NNPC Clarifies Petrol Discount: Relief Initiative, Not Subsidy Restoration

Published

1 day ago

October 9, 2026

Charles Flames

21 Views

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has clarified that its ongoing petrol discount is a temporary customer relief measure and does not amount to a restoration of the petroleum subsidy abolished in 2023.

In a statement issued on Friday by Chief Corporate Communications Officer Andy Odeh, the company said the N66-per-litre sales discount, first introduced on 1 October 2026 to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary, will continue until 31 October 2026 at NNPC Retail stations nationwide.

NNPC stressed that the initiative is designed to ease the burden of rising fuel prices linked to elevated global crude oil costs and the Middle East conflict. It applies only to NNPC Retail outlets and does not set a uniform national pump price or change the market-based pricing framework for petroleum products.

“This discount is a customer relief initiative and does not represent the reintroduction of petroleum subsidy,” the statement said. The company urged the public to disregard any interpretation of the measure as a return to the subsidy regime.

The clarification followed comments by Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Taiwo Oyedele, who explained that the discount is funded solely from NNPC Retail’s own profit margin and involves no public funds from the federal budget or Federation Account.

Business

Manufacturers sitting on N40trn untapped opportunities, says report

The Nigerian Manufacturing Opportunity Report 2026 provides decision-makers with the insights on opportunities that are most immediate, where Nigeria is already making progress and what needs to be done better to unlock greater value.

Published

1 day ago

October 9, 2026

OCHEFA

41 Views

SEID, a marketing communications and market intelligence firm in Lagos, has estimated that the Manufacturing industries in Nigeria is sitting on more than N40 trillion in untapped manufacturing opportunities.

The Managing Partner at SEID, Tubosun Akeju, disclosed this in a report -The Nigerian Manufacturing Opportunity Report 2026 launched by the during the 54th Annual General Meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, held at the Oriental Hotel.

Akeju emphasised that the report provides decision-makers with the insights on opportunities that are most immediate, where Nigeria is already making progress and what needs to be done better to unlock greater value.

“The opportunity is to understand where those strengths exist, deepen them, and build the competitiveness required to capture more value locally and compete beyond our borders,” he said .

The report examines manufacturing opportunities across Nigeria’s subsectors, states, value chains and industrial clusters, while identifying areas where existing strengths can be deepened and competitiveness improved.

It said that Nigeria’s manufacturing landscape was shaped by distinct areas of industrial strength, with different states, regions and value chains demonstrating varying levels of scale, specialisation and competitiveness.

The report noted that this created an opportunity to build on existing capabilities rather than adopt a one-size-fits-all approach to industrial development.

Manufacturing activity is spread across states with different levels of scale, specialisation and growth.

The South-West remains the country’s largest manufacturing zone, while other regions are developing strengths in areas ranging from food and agro-processing to textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cement, steel and light manufacturing.

The report maps these differences to show where investment and industrial development can build on existing capabilities.