Stronger monetary, fiscal alignment Essential for financial stability-CBN
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has called for stronger alignment between monetary and fiscal authorities to strengthen the nation’s financial system.
Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, Ms. Emem Usoro, stated this in Lagos in her the keynote address at the 2025 Seminar for Finance Correspondents and Business Editors.
The CBN Deputy Governor who was represented by Acting. Director, Corporate Communications Department Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali said the call for enhanced coordination has become even more important as Nigeria continues to consolidate progress recorded from recent reforms, noting that improved policy synergy will promote discipline, transparency, accountability and stronger economic outcomes.
She added that effective communication and accurate reporting by the media remain critical to ensuring public understanding of policy measures.
Reviewing the state of the economy when the current CBN leadership assumed office two years ago, the Deputy Governor said the macroeconomic environment was characterised by high inflation, naira instability due to forex scarcity, low external reserves and oil receipts, FX backlogs, and heavy reliance on ways and means financing.
According to her, these conditions weakened the financial system and underscored the urgency of reforms.
She explained that under Governor Olayemi Cardoso, the Bank adopted a sequence of orthodox, compliance-driven interventions to restore stability.
These included stronger corporate governance measures, tighter monetary policy, and the ongoing bank recapitalisation programme, initiatives aligned with the Federal Government’s broader economic reforms.
Usoro further noted that these actions have started yielding measurable results.
” Inflation has eased to 16.05 per cent, the exchange rate has stabilised below N1,500/$ with reduced volatility, while external reserves now exceed $46bn, providing more than 10 months of import cover”, she said.
The Deputy Governor pointed out that improving inflation dynamics are also supporting lower lending rates across the financial sector.
Usoro emphasised that although notable progress has been made, more work is needed to enhance economic resilience and improve living standards for Nigerians. Strengthened collaboration among fiscal authorities, regulators and the media, she stressed, will play a central role in achieving these objectives, particularly as digital finance and technological innovations continue to reshape the financial landscape.
She expressed appreciation to the Corporate Communications Department for organising the seminar and commended journalists for their continuous role in assessing, interpreting and disseminating CBN policies to the public.
She urged participants to generate actionable recommendations that will help deepen policy alignment and reinforce reform outcomes.
Usoro assured that the CBN will carefully analyse and consider the insights emerging from the seminar as part of efforts to sustain macroeconomic stability and advance the well-being of Nigerians.
