The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has urged the Federal Government, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) conduct a comprehensive review of the effects of continuous interest rate hikes on inflation and the real sector over the past five years.
MAN said considering the recent decisions by CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to continuously increase interest, which now totals 15.75 percentage points since May 2022, a comprehensive review of the effects of such rate hikes on inflation and the real sector is necessary to guide future decisions.
MAN Director General Segun Ajayi-Kadir said the Association acknowledges the CBN’s efforts to stabilize the economy, but is however, surprised that the CBN is increasing the MPR against the backdrop of the meagre improvement in inflation figures, which could be traceable primarily to the onset of the harvest season.
“It is, therefore, expedient that government adopt a holistic and balanced approach to policy formulation and decisions, with due consideration of their overall impact on the various sectors of the economy, particularly the productive sector.”