FG, CBN Coordination Must Benefit Poorer Nigerians, Alliance Says

The Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics Ltd/Gte has urged the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure that their renewed fiscal-monetary coordination translates economic growth into improved living conditions for Nigerians. The group made the call in an analysis titled, “The Wedding of the Two Elephants: Why Nigeria’s Fiscal-Monetary Truce Must Now Marry Growth to Development,” following the September 18, 2026 Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal Ministry of Finance and the CBN. While commending the institutions for agreeing to align macroeconomic assumptions, improve information sharing, coordinate government financing and cash management, and work together on inflation, the Alliance said coordination would only be meaningful if it resulted in poverty reduction, job creation and better access to basic services. It noted that Nigeria’s GDP grew by 4.43 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, following 3.87 per cent growth in 2025, but real GDP per capita increased by only 1.9 per cent in 2025.

The Alliance also highlighted Nigeria’s poverty levels and high government borrowing costs, citing the 2022 National Multidimensional Poverty Index, which estimated that 62.9 per cent of Nigerians were multidimensionally poor. It said interest payments accounted for an estimated 53.2 per cent of government revenue in 2025, while banks held government securities equivalent to 22 per cent of their assets, potentially limiting credit to private businesses. The group proposed a “Poverty Governor” framework under which major economic decisions would include assessments of their impact on the poorest 40 per cent of Nigerians. It also called for reducing government interest payments to below 30 per cent of revenue by 2028, with savings redirected to food systems, rural roads and primary healthcare. Other recommendations included boosting private-sector lending, addressing food, energy and transport costs through supply-side measures, and making fiscal-monetary coordination permanent. The Alliance said the success of the agreement should ultimately be measured by tangible improvements in food affordability, employment, healthcare and Nigerians’ overall standard of living.

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