Non Confirmation Of MPC Committee Members By The Senate Stalls Bi-monthly Meeting

Non Confirmation Of MPC Committee Members By The Senate Stalls Bi-monthly Meeting

The much awaited Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, meeting earlier scheduled for today and tomorrow has been cancelled.

This was announced by the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.

The cancellation was due to the non-confirmation of the MPC Nominees by the Senate.

Mr. Emefiele explained that the meeting could not be convened due to the apex bank’s inability to form a quorum as stipulated in the CBN Act 2007.

But the CBN governor said that key economic indicators in the country continued to move in the right direction.

He said the CBN would continue to maintain the key monetary variables as decided in the last MPC meeting of November 2017.

The Monetary Policy Rate, MPR, was retained at 14 per cent; CRR at 22.5 per cent; Liquidity Ratio at 30 per cent and the Asymmetric Corridor at +200 and -500 basis points around the MPR.

The CBN governor cited the recovery in oil prices and boost in domestic production and Nigeria’s exit from recession in 2017 as positive indicators.

Other indicators are the decline in inflation rate to 15.37 per cent and accretion to the country’s Foreign Exchange Reserves, which now stands at 40.78 billion dollars,
According to him, this underscored the fact that the Nigerian economy remained strong.

He noted that strong investor confidence in Nigeria had attracted inflows of about 13 billion dollars through the Investors’ and Exporters’, I&E, window, opened by the CBN in 2017.

These inflows, he noted have boosted foreign exchange supply and helped to stabilise the exchange rate.

Emefiele assured that a revised schedule of the Meetings for the MPC would be communicated as soon as the Bank met the statutory requirements of membership and quorum for the MPC.

The CBN governor pledged that the Management of the CBN would continue to sustain the gains recorded in the economy as well as its vigilance and proactivity, to ensure overall macro-economic stability throughout 2018.

President Muhammadu Buhari, in October 2017, nominated Mrs. Aisha Ahmad as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He also sought the confirmation of Mr. Adeola Adenikinju, Mr Aliyu Sanusi, Mr Robert Asogwa and Mrs Asheikh Maidugu as members of the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee.

The Second Schedule of the CBN Act (Section 12(5) and 54, stipulates that the MPC shall meet at least four times in a year and that the quorum shall be six members; two of whom shall be the Governor and a Deputy Governor or two Deputy Governors.