He disclosed that the bank prioritised combating inflation over tackling rising unemployment rates
The Central Bank of Nigeria says it’s making frantic efforts to address the nation’s galloping inflation which has engendered cost of living crisis and slowed down the economy.
The apex bank asserted that Nigeria cannot attain the level of economic prosperity it desires without tackling rising inflation.
Speaking on the bank’s second episode of the talk podcast on its YouTube page, the acting director of the Banking Supervision Department of CBN, Dr Adetona Adedeji, noted inflation hinders economic growth.
He disclosed that the bank prioritised combating inflation over tackling rising unemployment rates.
During the session, Adedeji emphasised that the Central Bank’s primary goal is to curb inflation, acknowledging the potential for impacts in other areas.
“The ultimate objective is for us to combat inflation. That is what the central bank is doing today. Whatever it takes to fight inflation, we are going to do that. It may have some impact in some areas.
“We can’t fight two things at the same time. There will be trade-offs. If you are fighting inflation, you can’t fight unemployment simultaneously. Even if you fight unemployment, it cannot reach the desired level. So, you have to choose either to fight inflation or unemployment. These two are macroeconomic objectives that are very critical to the development of the economy.
“But we are saying if we are talking of economic growth, it is because the economy is still relevant and available, which is why you are talking of economic growth. But if you look at an economy hit by inflation, you will not even talk of economic growth.
“So, it is essential that we concentrate and fight inflation. By bringing inflation down, we start talking of economic growth,” he said.
Meanwhile, despite the CBN consistently raising interest rates, which stood at 24.75 per cent in March, the country’s inflation increased to 33.20 per cent in the same month
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