- FG making tough choices now for better future — Bagudu
The Central Bank of Nigeria has assured that it will sustain its current interest rate policy through the 2024/2025 fiscal years describing it as ‘market-driven’.
The bank also said its ways and means advances to the Federal Government to finance deficits in its budgetary operations remains a maximum of 5.0 percent of the previous year’s actual collected revenue.
The apex bank in its Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade and Exchange Policy Guidelines for Fiscal Years 2024-2025 document released on Tuesday, said it shall continue to influence interest rates indirectly, through the adjustment of its anchor rate, the Monetary Policy Rate.
The bank regulator said “Accordingly, interest rates used by banks in the 2024/2025 fiscal years shall comply with the following guidelines, including, that banks shall continue to pay negotiated interest rates on current account deposits at the instance of the customer; shall continue to pay negotiated interest rates on savings account deposits as provided in Guide to Charges by Banks, Other Financial and Non-Bank Financial Institutions, or any other policy, circular or guideline that may be issued by CBN from time to time.
“Where special-purpose deposits (such as deposits held as collateral or other similar deposits) are held, banks shall pay interest at a rate negotiated with the customer, subject to a minimum of 30.0 percent of MPR per annum for naira denominated deposits.”
It also noted that the applicable interest rate on foreign currency denominated deposits held as collateral shall be negotiable.
On ways and means, the CBN said any such advances shall be liquidated as soon as possible and shall in any event be repayable at the end of the year in which it was granted.
“Consistent with the banking arrangement of Treasury Single Account (TSA), Ways and Means Advances would now be determined after recognising the sub-accounts of the various MDAs, which are now linked to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) to arrive at the FGN consolidated cash position,” the bank said.
The new guidelines also said the bank will implement an explicit inflation targeting framework to enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy during the period. According to the guideline, “To complement the new inflation targeting environment, CBN will continue to monitor the growth in monetary aggregates to ensure that it remains consistent with the inflation objective of the Bank. In addition, short-term interest rates will be monitored to avoid volatility with the goal of anchoring expectations in the financial markets.
It said the 2024/2025 Guidelines coincide with the unification of the naira exchange rate windows to align the exchange rate with market realities, curtail unnecessary demand pressure and activities of speculators.
It would be recalled that about two months ago, the Senate and the House of Representatives passed a bill increasing the percentage of Ways and Means loans the CBN can advance to the Federal Government from 5 per cent to 10 per cent.
That bill was criticised by economic experts who argued that if the increase was allowed, it could create excess liquidity.
FG making tough choices now for better future — Bagudu
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, on Tuesday, said the Federal Government is making choices that may seem tough now for a better future for Nigerians.
Bagudu made this statement at the High-Level Advisory Council meeting to support women and girls, organised in collaboration with the Development Research and Projects Centre in Abuja.
In 2023, President Muhammadu Buhari launched the advisory council to focus on driving inclusiveness and women’s economic empowerment, particularly regarding economic access, sustainable livelihoods, and education for women and girls.
Speaking at the meeting, Bagudu, who commended Nigerian women for their hard work and resilience, noted that one of President Tinubu’s agendas, the Renewed Hope agenda, is women’s inclusiveness and empowerment.
He said the core of the Renewed Hope agenda is inclusivity.
“Across the country, we have hardworking women. In particular, women who are able, willing, and wake up as early as 2 a.m. to participate in a trade, go to the farm, smoke fish, or roast something by the roadside. Tragically, however, some do not know this story; or a woman carries a calabash, walking nine kilometres to a market. This story of our very resilient and hardworking populace needs to be told, and they need to be supported.
“It is for us to imagine, to be innovative, to create, and to ensure that we support them by linking their efforts, opportunities, and returns. Only then can we have an equitable and prosperous society. We are not playing the blame game for what has happened in the past. We are confronting our reality. We are not where we want to be; we want prosperity to be equitably shared. We want to reward effort and provide opportunities.
“We are making choices that may seem tough now, but we believe they will lead to a better future for our young people, our women, and our men,” he stated.
The Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, called for actionable plans for women’s empowerment and inclusiveness.
“One of the reasons this meeting was called is that we are already tired of talking with no action. We are fed up with policies upon policies and no results. So, I am not interested in any more policies. I am interested in solving our problems.
“This high-ranking committee that we have gathered today is to follow new narratives so that these women will start receiving what they deserve immediately. We are moving towards developing women, including providing machines for bitter leaf, which we have placed in markets, and partnering with the Nigerian Traders Association to manage these machines.
“We are calling on non-governmental organisations to change their priorities. We are calling on the media to change their priorities. One of the things this meeting will do for us is to start examining these issues, putting checks in place, and ensuring the right actions are taken. If we don’t do this, we are wasting our time. If we channel our priorities correctly, we will find that we are part of the problem, not just the government, governors, or the president,” she emphasised.
For her part, the Executive Director of the dRPC, Dr Judith-Ann Walker, commended Kennedy-Ohanenye for demonstrating a commitment to leveraging existing consultative institutions and structures to address the problems, challenges, and barriers faced by many women in Nigeria.
“The dRPC has been working towards the domestication of the Women’s Economic Empowerment Policy in Nigeria, and we thank the Minister and the staff of the Ministry for supporting us in this process.
“As we discuss and move into the sessions, I would like to emphasise that there is a lot of conversation about practical aspects and strategies for implementing the WEE policy and empowering women in Nigeria. We support the Minister’s vision.
“As an organisation working in this space, we endorse the fact that policies should capture and represent practical actions that empower women, both in this space and in their communities,” Walker said.
