Forex Crisis: “We have transitioned from firefighting to strategic planning” – Cardoso

This transition comes after six months of grappling with numerous economic challenges, including rampant inflation and volatility in the foreign exchange market.

He made this remark in a joint press briefing with the Minster of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings held in Washington DC, United States.

Governor Cardoso highlighted that with the attainment of relative stability, particularly in the FX market, the focus of the CBN is now on enhancing the ease of doing business within Nigeria.

This strategic pivot aims to consolidate the recent gains by fostering an efficient and transparent market system, which in turn is expected to boost financial and economic inclusion for small businesses and households.

Key initiatives include leveraging technology and remote banking solutions to decrease transaction costs and widen access to financial services.

These measures are part of a broader agenda to create a more resilient and inclusive economic framework, moving away from the emergency measures that previously dominated the central bank’s agenda.

Governor Cardoso emphasized the need for a sequenced approach to address ongoing and future challenges, ensuring the CBN works closely with stakeholders such as investors, banks, and businesses.

This collaborative effort underscores a renewed commitment to orthodox monetary policies, aiming to rebuild trust and confidence in Nigeria’s economic management and leadership.

Cardoso also responded to the current exchange rate depreciation experienced over the weekend as the naira weakened on the official and parallel market on Friday.

He also reinforced the target of doubling diaspora remittances as a key policy focus in the short to medium term for the apex bank.

While the apex bank did not state the baseline for doubling the remittance targets, the World Bank estimates Nigeria’s diaspora remittances to be around $20.5 billion annually.