The CBN announced that it would maintain its Ways and Means Advances to the Federal Government at a 5 percent limit for the 2024-2025 fiscal years, in contrast to a bill passed by the National Assembly.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has provided clarifications regarding the “Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines for Fiscal Years 2024-2025” document, which was published on Tuesday, September 17, 2024.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued a new statement on Friday, published on its website, to clarify details regarding the “Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines for Fiscal Years 2024-2025,” which was released on September 17, 2024.
In the statement, the CBN announced that it had revoked the document temporarily to prevent further misrepresentation or misinterpretation that could cause confusion among stakeholders. The CBN stated, “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to instances of misinterpretation or misrepresentation of its biennial publication on Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines, published on September 17, 2024. In response, the CBN has temporarily withdrawn the document to minimize the risk of further misrepresentation.”
The bank explained that the document, as with previous editions, is intended to serve the following purposes:
- Provide a single reference source for stakeholders’ ease and convenience.
- Offer a valid compilation of policies, directives, and guidelines for resolving conflicts involving stakeholders.
- Provide additional clarification of policies and guidelines.
The CBN emphasized that the document is a collection of previously issued policies and guidelines and is only applicable when there have been no updates or revisions. This is explicitly stated in the document to guide stakeholders. It also notes that while the January 2024 edition contains policies and guidelines issued up to December 31, 2023, many of these policies remain relevant, while others may no longer apply due to updates made after publication.
The statement further highlighted that the guidelines might be adjusted without prior notice to reflect new developments in the domestic and global economies. These changes would be communicated to stakeholders through supplementary circulars.
The CBN also addressed misinterpretations in recent media reports, explaining that some of these references were based on outdated policy positions. For example, the Cyber Security Levy mentioned in the guidelines was suspended in May 2024, superseding earlier circulars. The bank also corrected reports that mistakenly linked fuel subsidy removal to external reserves, clarifying that recent policies around the Naira exchange rate and fiscal measures had positively impacted the situation.
In conclusion, the CBN reiterated that the guidelines are primarily a record of policies issued by the bank up to the end of 2023 and should not be reported as new directives. The bank assured stakeholders that it would continue to provide clear monetary policy guidance for the benefit of the economy and urged stakeholders to seek clarification before publishing any information related to its policies.
This clarification follows reports that the CBN would maintain its Ways and Means Advances to the Federal Government at a 5 percent limit for the fiscal years 2024-2025, which contrasts with a bill passed by the National Assembly, raising the maximum borrowing percentage from 5 percent to 10 percent.
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