High inflation, interest rates margin unacceptably wide, says MPC member

One of the members of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Adenikinju Festus, has said the high level of inflation and interest rates margin in the country is unacceptably wide.

Festus, who advocates for the increase of MPR, asked the apex bank to probe the foreign exchange market operations in Nigeria.

It would be recalled that at the last Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held between September 16 and 17, Festus voted for the monetary policy rate to be increased.

At the meeting, while nine members of the MPC voted to retain the MPR at 11.5 percent, Festus preferred the rate moved to 14.5 percent.

The increase in MPR affects the cost of repayment of loan banks approved for customers, as it is the interest rate used by the CBN to lend to the commercial lenders.

Following the votes of the ten MPC members, the MPR was retained at 11.5 percent.

Festus admitted Nigeria is struggling to expand its foreign exchange supply amid volatile oil export, and it is faced with the challenge of how to improve it.

According to his statement, the four major sources: oil exports, foreign capital flows, remittances and non-oil exports, foreign portfolio investments are very fungible, despite being desirable.