Business

Why Monetary Policy Rate was Increased – CBN

Published

4 years ago

September 28, 2022

The Central Bank of Nigeria says its Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to increase Monetary Policy Rate is to control rising inflation.

CBN’s Director, Monetary Policy Department, Hassan Mahmoud, said this on Wednesday at a post-MPC briefing tagged: “Unveiling Facts behind the Figures’’.

The MPC, in its 287th meeting on Tuesday, had increased the MPR by 150 basis points, from 14 per cent to 15.5 per cent.

The MPR is the baseline interest rate in an economy on which other interest rates within that economy are built on.

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had said that the decision was informed by persistent rise in inflation rate and fragile economic growth.

According to Mahmud, the MPC got to a point where stringent measures have to be taken to control inflation.

He said that the committee took cognisance of global as well as local economic issues in arriving at its policy decisions.

“We raised the MPR because it is necessary to do so. The quantity of money in the system was too much for the economy to absorb,’’ he said.

He said that monetary policy tools were meant to deal with short term risks, adding that the idea was to make the cost of funds expensive to drive down inflation.

According to Mahmud, the stimuluses that governments across the world provided for their citizens during COVID-19 increased the ability of people to spend, thereby, creating challenges with global supply.

“A lot of households and small businesses were injected with stimuluses; the U.S did two trillion dollars, Nigeria did about five trillion Naira, these increased the ability of people to spend.

“But the supply side could not meet up with the demand because that volume of injection was far more than the regular intake for those economies, this made prices to go up,’’ he said.

He also blamed the Russian-Ukraine war, as well as the resurgence of COVID-19 in China as responsible for rise in global inflationary trend.

“That region accounts for more than 50 per cent of global commodity supply and 38 per cent of global oil and gas supply.

“The war resulted to some shortages which made prices to go up.

“Then the COVID-19 lockdown in China. The country is the largest importer of commodities across the globe,’’ he said.

Speaking on the various economic intervention initiatives by the apex bank and the prospect of recouping the funds, Dr Yusuf Yila, director, Development Finance Department, said about nine trillion Naira had been invested in the various development finance interventions.

He, however, said that all the monies would be recovered.

According to Yila, N9.3 trillion has been invested in various development finance interventions, out of which N3.7 trillion has been repaid.

“Most of the loans are still under moratorium, especially those in manufacturing. Manufacturing forms the largest part of our portfolio, about 31 per cent,’’ he said.

He, however, said that one of the best-performing interventions was the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme, where out of the N800 billion that was lent out, about N700 billion had been repaid.

Yila said that through the flagship agriculture intervention scheme, the Anchor Borrowers Programme, one trillion Naira had been lent out to smallholder farmers, while about N400 billion has so far been recovered.

According to him, the department will restrict intervention to critical sectors like the SMEs and the electricity sector for now.

Speaking on the depreciation of the Naira, the Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Mrs Ozoemena Nnaji, said the apex bank was taking steps to firm up the currency.

Nnaji said that demand for foreign exchange outstripped supply currency, adding that the CBN was doing a lot to mop up supply.

“One of the steps is the Naira for dollar remittance drive, which has resulted to a huge increase in diaspora remittances.

“There is also the RT200 bringing in forex. Repatriation has gone up from 20 million dollars in the first quarter to about 600 million dollars in the second quarter.

“In this third quarter we are looking at more than one billion dollars of repatriated inflows,’’ she said.
NAN

Business

Why We Sited Our Multi-Billion Naira Automobile Firm Branch in Benin – Skyewise Group CEO

Published

23 hours ago

May 4, 2026

Editor

Dr. Elvis Abuyere, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Skyewise Group, an automobile firm, has explained the reason for establishing a branch of the company in Benin City, the Edo State capital, describing the ancient city as “a growing economy full of enormous potential for vibrant youth.”

He added that the company considers Edo State one of the most interesting states, noting that the decision aligns with its long-term vision.

Abuyere, who spoke in Benin on Monday while taking journalists on a tour of the new automobile facility, said:
“We started very small — from Abuja to Lagos and now Benin. It is a joy and privilege for us to have completed this amazing regional office with Skyewise Group.”

According to him, beyond the automobile business, Skyewise Group is in Benin to invest in real estate, logistics, youth empowerment, and credit management. “Aand also to lend our support to what the Edo State Government is doing, knowing the fact that there is an agenda,” he added.

The young CEO urged youths in Nigeria, particularly those in Edo State, to embrace entrepreneurship, stressing that “we believe it is the future of Africa,” especially Nigeria.

He said Nigeria stands as the giant of Africa and that its youth must take bold steps in the entrepreneurship landscape.

According to Abuyere, to ensure Edo youths actualise their entrepreneurial potential, the company has prepared soft loans to help them start businesses, adding that Skyewise Group is not limited to automobile operations.

He said: “More importantly to us is youth empowerment. We want our youth to be empowered, and this is where the Skyewise Foundation comes in.

“We believe the future of Africa is entrepreneurship, and that future lies in the hands of the young people of Nigeria. We want to empower them to stand the test of time, build something meaningful, and reduce unemployment and insecurity in our land.

“I believe we need to begin taking bold steps by refining the mindset of our young people. We need to give them a sense of belonging and direction.

“We have been addressing the liquidity gap in society by providing microloans to support businesses in our environment and in Benin City.”

When asked why he chose Benin City for the multi-billion naira automobile firm, Abuyere noted: “I think this is the first automobile showroom in Edo State where you can see a car lifted from the ground floor to the first floor and beyond.”

Business

JUST IN: Nigerian Filling Stations Reduce Fuel Price After Hike

Published

3 days ago

May 2, 2026

Editor

Nigerian filling stations reduced their Premium Motor Spirit price on Saturday, barely 24 hours after the hike.

Checks by DAILY POST showed that Ranoil, Empire Energy, and other filling stations in Abuja adjusted their petrol pumps to N1,365 and N1,375 per litre respectively, down from N1,440 per litre on Friday.

This means that petroleum marketers dropped their fuel price by N65 and N75 per litre. DAILY POST reports that the move was to attract patronage from customers.

Recall that three days ago, Nigerian filling stations had raised their petrol pump price to between N1,365 and N1,440 nationwide after Dangote Refinery and depot owners increased ex-depot prices to around N1,275 and N1,290 per litre.

According to DAILY POST, while the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and MRS Bovas filling stations raised their petrol price to around N1,365 per litre, others adjusted theirs above N1,440 per litre.

However, with the latest fuel price reduction by Ranoil and Empire Energy, the majority of filling station outlets now dispense petrol between N1,365 and N1,375 per litre.

This development comes as the ripple effect of crude oil prices continues to impact Nigeria’s domestic fuel price.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude rose to $114 and $105 per barrel before dropping to $108 and $101 after the filing of this report.

Business

Dangote Refinery Hikes Petrol Price

Published

6 days ago

April 29, 2026

Editor

Dangote Refinery has increased the ex-depot price of petrol by N75.

The refinery announced the increase on Wednesday, hiking the the price from N1,200 to N1,275 per litre.
In the same way, coastal prices have gone up to N1,215 per litre.

This adjustment amid Brent crude trading at $114.80 per barrel marks a 3.15% increase.

DAILY POST reports that Brent crude has increased to $115 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate rose to $103 per barrel on Wednesday.