olayemi cardoso : press briefing - international monetary fund / world bank spring meetings remarks by mr olayemi cardoso, governor of the central bank of nigeria, at the press briefing to nigerian media at the international monetary fund / world bank spring meetings, washington dc, 20 april 2024. * * * thank you for the opportunity to address you today. it has indeed been a fruitful few days of engaging with our esteemed international policy counterparts and stakeholders from around the world, as well as nigeria's investors. we came here with a very clear agenda and have held highly significant, intentional meetings – each one with an objective to further support the stability and ultimate growth of the nigerian economy. besides our meetings with multilateral financial institutions, and foreign investor groups with a keen interest on developments in nigeria, including a critical gathering at the us chamber of commerce, we had very productive discussions with leading international money transfer operators ( imtos ), where we collectively committed to doubling remittance flows through formal channels into nigeria in the immediate short to medium term. this target is both ambitious and achievable, and we're wasting no time in setting up a collaborative task force, reporting to myself, to drive progress and address any bottlenecks that hinder flows through formal channels. in the six months since assuming the position of central bank governor, the challenges have been significant, from grappling with inflation to addressing volatility in the foreign exchange market. however, with relative stability now achieved, particularly in the fx market, we have transitioned from firefighting to strategic planning across key areas. these areas include improving the ease of doing business in nigeria, to consolidate and sustain the gains through an efficient and transparent market system and boosting financial and economic inclusion for small businesses and households – interrogating all potential ways to leverage smarter use of technology, and remote banking to reduce the cost of transactions and expand accessibility to the financial system. april saw the naira emerge as the best - performing currency globally, supported by bullish sentiment from leading international investment institutions. our fx market is experiencing robust activities, with turnover reaching levels not seen in over seven years. this liquidity boost instils confidence among investors, businesses, and other partners, ensuring fluidity in their interactions with nigeria's fx markets. however, we remain vigilant, recognizing the challenges that persist, such as elevated inflation driven by rising food prices, transportation costs, and energy expenses. we note that inflation

sarah alade : promoting inclusive growth and transformative development in africa welcome address by dr sarah alade, acting governor of the central bank of nigeria, at the caucus meeting of african central bank governors on “ industrialization for inclusiveness and transformative development in africa ”, as part of the 7th joint annual meeting of the au conference of ministers of economy and finance and eca conference of african ministers of finance, planning and economic development sideline, abuja, 27 march 2014. * * * her excellency, the chairperson of african union commission, his excellency, the executive secretary of uneca, honourable governors, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen 1. it is my pleasure to welcome you all to the first caucus meeting of african central bank governors, holding on the sideline of the 7th joint annual meeting of the uneca au african ministers of economic, finance, planning and economic development. i hope you had a pleasant trip to abuja, nigeria. 2. distinguished colleagues, you will recall that this caucus meeting came into being by our collective desire to be part of the solution to africa ’ s growth and development agenda. as african central bank governors ’ we made it known that we wanted to play both active and supportive role where necessary in setting the african agenda during annual economic planning and development conference in africa. this initiative, therefore, places higher responsibility on us to contribute in steering policy dialogue and implementing the agreed recommendations that would emerge from such deliberations. it places ownership and makes coordination and implementation easier as all stakeholders are in agreement. 3. i am delighted that this meeting would provide a platform for african central bank governors to provide input in the design and implementation of effective strategies to promote industrialization for inclusive growth and transformative development in africa. 4. accordingly, the meeting has pooled together, a team of highly resourceful and knowledgeable professionals from central banks, uneca, auc, world bank, imf, and other development institutions to address the theme of the conference. 5. honourable governors, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, it is important to state that african central banks are inundated with several global challenges such as ; the aftermaths of 2007 / 2009 global financial crisis ; incessant natural disasters like flooding with the resultant effect of rising food prices ; exchange rate volatility due to dependence on primary commodity exports for revenue ; capital reversal inflow as a result of tapering in the us, among others. 6. despite these daunting