He made this statement in Abuja during the 2025 Monetary Policy Forum, which included fiscal authorities, legislators, private sector representatives, development partners, subject-matter experts, and scholars.
Speaking on the theme, ‘Managing the Disinflation Process,’ the apex bank boss reiterated that the goal of the CBN is to ensure that monetary policy remains forward-looking, adaptive, and resilient.
He said the CBN is continuing its disciplined approach to monetary policy.
“Managing disinflation amidst persistent shocks requires not only robust policies but also coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities to anchor expectations and maintain investor confidence.
“Our focus must remain on price stability, the planned transition to an inflation-targeting framework, and strategies to restore purchasing power and ease economic hardship,” Cardoso said.
He stated that actions taken by the CBN have yielded measurable progress – relative stability in the FX market, narrowing exchange rate disparities, and a rise in external reserves to over $40 billion as of December 2024.
According to him, the apex bank is focused on strengthening the banking sector, introducing new minimum capital requirements for banks (effective March 2026) to ensure resilience and position Nigeria’s banking industry for a $1T economy.
“As we shift from unorthodox to orthodox monetary policy, the CBN remains committed to restoring confidence, strengthening policy credibility, and staying focused on its core mandate of price stability,” he stated.
He noted that the CBN launched the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Code, marking a decisive step forward for integrity, fairness, transparency and efficiency in our FX market.
