The Central Bank of Nigeria has called on individuals, businesses and other stakeholders to provide feedback on its policies to strengthen public confidence and improve the country’s monetary and financial systems.
The Director of the Stakeholder Engagement and Institutional Relations Department, Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali, made the call at the CBN Listens Programme held in Ibadan, Oyo State.
In a statement issued on Friday, the apex bank said the engagement provided an opportunity to understand the challenges Nigerians face and incorporate their recommendations into policy development and future public engagements.
Sidi Ali explained that the programme was designed to enable the CBN to explain its policies, address misconceptions and obtain practical feedback from individuals and businesses affected by developments in the financial system.
The director stressed that continuous engagement with stakeholders was essential for effective policy formulation and implementation, adding that public confidence, mutual understanding and institutional cooperation remained central to the bank’s statutory responsibilities.
She urged participants to express their concerns freely and constructively, noting that their contributions would help the CBN identify emerging challenges and improve its response to issues affecting the financial system.
Sidi Ali also emphasised the importance of financial inclusion, noting that broader access to financial services would help ensure that economic growth creates opportunities for more Nigerians, particularly those with limited access to formal banking services.
She added that access to financial services could encourage entrepreneurship, reduce poverty, expand economic opportunities and promote shared prosperity.
The director said the CBN would continue collaborating with financial institutions, financial technology companies, mobile money operators, development partners and state governments to extend financial services to underserved and unserved communities.
She identified the Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028 as one of the initiatives designed to strengthen the country’s financial system.
Sidi Ali also highlighted reforms introduced under CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso to restore macroeconomic stability, strengthen financial markets, improve transparency and support sustainable economic growth.
Among the measures, she cited foreign exchange market reforms, including the unification of exchange rates and the introduction of the Bloomberg BMatch trading system, which the bank said were designed to improve transparency, efficiency and confidence in foreign exchange transactions.
She also pointed to the completion of the banking sector recapitalisation programme, which the CBN said had strengthened banks’ capital adequacy, resilience and capacity to support economic growth.
Another measure highlighted was the introduction of a 75 per cent Cash Reserve Ratio on non-Treasury Single Account public sector deposits, which the bank said was intended to improve liquidity management and help reduce inflationary pressures.
The CBN also introduced the Nigerian Overnight Financing Rate in collaboration with the Financial Markets Dealers Association to provide a transparent, market-based benchmark for short-term funding transactions.According to Sidi Ali, the benchmark was designed to bring Nigeria’s money market infrastructure closer to international best practices.
