Speaking at the 303rd monetary policy committee (MPC)
meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, Olayemi Cardoso, CBN governor, said a review of
past intervention schemes showed that the total value of interventions issued
over a decade stood at N10.93 trillion.

“Now, we did a survey, a small study, of interventions in
the central bank. And we came out with certain numbers, which showed that
intervention, total amount of intervention was about N10.93 trillion, which
goes back perhaps 2010 or 2013,” Cardoso said.

“Now, out of that, we still have outstanding of N4.69
trillion naira, which represents about 43 percent of those interventions. Since
we have come, we’ve been able to reign back about N2 trillion. This is a
humongous amount of money.”

He further said the lack of funds prevents new economic
interventions, which, paradoxically, is working because it stops the central
bank from taking actions that historically caused heavy market distortion.

The CBN boss added that the apex bank is now focused on
using its influence to encourage private sector development, recognising that
past interventions created a moral hazard and discouraged private competition.

NIGERIA’S EXTERNAL RESERVES INCREASED BY 9% TO $46.70BN
IN TWO YEARS

Cardoso said gross external reserves increased by 9.19
percent, reaching $46.70 billion on November 14, 2025, from $42.77 billion at
the end of September 2025.

He added that it is sufficient to cover 10.3 months of
import for goods and services.

The CBN governor also said global outlook is projected to
recover in the near to medium term, “underpinned by improved trade
negotiations, accommodative monetary policy, in advanced economies, and easing
geopolitical tensions”.

“However, headwinds to the outlook include the potential for
increasing protectionism, geo-economic fragmentation, and likely resurgence of
trade tensions between the U.S. and its major trading partners,” he said.

“Global inflation is expected to maintain a steady decline
through 2026, on the back of the combined impact of past monetary tightening,
gradual mobilisation of the global supply chain, and softening commodity
prices. Inflation is, however, projected to remain above pre-pandemic levels in
the near term.”

The CBN governor added that the purchasing managers’ index
(PMI) rose to 56.4 points in November 2025, the highest in five years,
signalling stronger economic growth for the third and fourth quarters.