Business
Okonjo-Iweala Assures Nigerians Of Tight Monetary Policies

A structure at the new site of the Pan African Health Foundation for AD Syringe Plant in Port Harcourt.
Photo: Chris Monyanaga.
The Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said that the government’s tight monetary policies would continue depite suspension of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
Okonjo-Iweala, who disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja, said since the announcement of the suspension of Sanusi by President Goodluck Jonathan, the naira had become stable.
“Since the news broke on the suspension of the CBN governor, there has been a concern in the market which is not unusual.
“I want to use this opportunity to assure market participants of the resolute attention this government will be paying on the economy.
“We will maintain tight fiscal policies, we expect a continuation of the tight monetary policies that have been known at the CBN.
“The naira has fluctuated and depreciated a bit this morning, but with the announcement of that government will continue to tighten monetary policies, I am hopeful that the naira will stabilize,” she said.
“At the moment, the economy is in a good shape, inflation is still at a single digit of about eight per cent and our external reserves are still regarded as healthy by IMF at $41.4 billion.
“Fiscal deficit remains tight at 1.9 per cent of the GDP and of course, a current account surplus.
“All these are hallmarks of a stable economy,” she said.