Financial experts on Saturday called on the Central Bank of Nigeria to jettison further increase in interest rates ahead of the 297th meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee. Prof. Uche Uwaleke, Director, Institute of Capital Market Studies at Nasarawa State University and Prof. Anthony Kila, a Political Economist, gave this view in separate interviews with News Agency of Nigeria on Saturday.
He mentioned that the MPC, in consideration of the fact that inflation has slowed down for two consecutive months to 32.15%, should not consider raising the interest rate from its current level of 26.75%. He stated that further hikes could dampen Nigeria’s economic growth and lower employment rates.
In the mean time, Prof. Kila called on CBN to have a rethink in how it approaches measuring inflation and economic growth to accurately capture what ordinary Nigerians are going through. The two experts feel this is a step that will help boost the economy.