By Niyi Jacobs
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has moved to address widespread misinterpretations surrounding its recently published monetary, credit, foreign trade, and exchange policy guidelines for fiscal years 2024-2025.
In a surprise move, the CBN temporarily withdrew the guidelines from circulation last week, citing the need to “minimize risk of further misrepresentation.” The sudden withdrawal sparked confusion among stakeholders, with many scrambling to understand the reasons behind the move.
However, in a statement released yesterday, the CBN clarified that the guidelines were withdrawn to address misinterpretations and misrepresentations that had arisen in recent media publications.
“The CBN has observed that certain aspects of the guidelines have been misinterpreted or misrepresented, leading to confusion among stakeholders,” the statement read. “To address this, we have temporarily withdrawn the document to provide clear explanations and context.”
According to the CBN, the guidelines are a compilation of previously issued policies and directives, some of which may have changed or been updated since publication. The bank emphasized that the guidelines are not new directives and should not be reported as such.
“The CBN will continue to provide clear monetary policy direction and advice for the overall good of the economy,” the statement assured. “We urge all stakeholders to seek clarification before publishing to avoid spreading misinformation.”
The move has been welcomed by industry experts, who praised the CBN for taking proactive steps to address the confusion.
“This is a responsible move by the CBN to ensure that stakeholders have a clear understanding of the guidelines,” said economist and financial analyst, Dr. Ayodele
