Dr Samuel Nzekwe, President of the Association of Nation Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), on Tuesday said that there should be more alignment in fiscal and monetary policies to tame the inflation rate standing at 17.24 per cent.
Nzekwe said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, while reacting to the outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.
He added that the gap between the inflation rate and Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), as the the interest rate benchmark, was wide which informed the MPC decision.
Nzekwe said the outcome of the committee’s meeting was expected, adding that any contrary decision either in reduction or increase could pose negative effects on the economy.
The MPC retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 14 per cent,” and kept its cash reserve ratios and liquidity ratio for commercial banks at 22.5 per cent and 30 per cent”.
The governor of the Central Bank of Nigertia (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, said the bank wanted to end the spread between the black market and official foreign exchange rates.
Emefiele said that the recent rise of the naira against the dollar showed that the central bank’s policies were working.
He, however, said the current inflation was ‘cost-push’ due to the challenges confronting the foreign exchange market which included the devaluation of the naira.
The economist listed others as scarcity of foreign exchange, lack of infrastructure and cost of capital. (NAN)