The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has temporarily withdrawn its “Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines for Fiscal Years 2024–2025,” published on Tuesday, September 17, 2024.
In a statement posted on its website on Friday, the CBN explained that the document was revoked to avoid further misrepresentation and confusion among stakeholders.
Notably, the release was not signed by any CBN official.
The controversy arose from parts of the guidelines, including one stating that the Bank would maintain its Ways and Means Advances to the Federal Government at a 5% limit for 2024-2025.
This appeared to conflict with a National Assembly bill that had raised the maximum borrowing percentage to 10%.
Another point of contention was the reinstatement of the cybersecurity levy, which had been suspended earlier this year following public outcry.
However, the CBN clarified that the guidelines were not new policies but rather a collection of previously issued directives, effective until December 31, 2023.
The Bank noted that some of the policies mentioned had since been revised or replaced with newer updates.
“The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been drawn to certain instances of misinterpretation or misrepresentation of its biennial publication on Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines,” the statement read.
“In response, the CBN has temporarily withdrawn the document to minimize the risk of further misrepresentation,”the statement continued.
The CBN emphasized that the guidelines were intended as a reference for stakeholders, containing policies and directives issued up to December 31 of the relevant year.
The Bank also highlighted that some of the policies were no longer applicable, having been superseded by updates in 2024.
“In light of these clarifications, we ask stakeholders to note that some recent media reports have incorrectly referenced policy positions that were issued prior to December 31, 2023, but have since changed,” the statement continued, pointing to the example of the suspended cybersecurity levy and correcting technical inaccuracies regarding the Bank’s position on external reserves and the fuel subsidy removal.
The CBN concluded by urging stakeholders to seek clarification before publishing information related to its policies, reiterating its commitment to providing clear monetary policy direction for the benefit of the economy.
