CBN urges stronger monetary, fiscal alignment to deepen financial stability

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has called for deeper alignment between monetary and fiscal authorities to strengthen the country’s financial system and sustain ongoing macroeconomic gains.

Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, Ms Emem Usoro, made the appeal on Thursday in Lagos while delivering the keynote address at the 2025 Seminar for Finance Correspondents and Business Editors.

Usoro who was represented by Ag. Director, Corporate Communications Department (CCD), CBN, 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.

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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.

These conditions, she said, 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.

According to her, 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 noted 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.

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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.