On Thursday, April 17, 2025, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showcased Nigeria on the global scene through its reform agenda. The event was the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York, ahead of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group (WBG) Spring meetings during the week.
The strategic meeting on the theme: “The Nigeria Investment Agenda: Pathways for Growth & Global Partnerships,” was organised in collaboration with JP Morgan, the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), and the African Private Capital Association (AVCA). The CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso, took advantage of the quality audience made up of mostly global investors, diaspora leaders, and financial experts to unveil his administration’s visionary reform agenda aimed at laying a solid foundation for the country’s economic transformation.
Amid rising inflation as a result of some fiscal authority’s policy directions, like the removal of subsidy from the pricing template of petroleum products, Cardoso has always said that right from the outset the monetary policy goal of the apex bank was to ensure the rate was trending down from double digits to single digits in the medium to long term.
The primary objective of the Bank’s reforms, he said during the briefing after one of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meetings last year, has always been to achieve stability in the Foreign Exchange and the Financial markets, by deliberately shifting from unorthodox to orthodox monetary policy, while remaining committed to restoring confidence, strengthening policy credibility, staying vigilant and focused on its core mandate of price stability.
In his address at the New York meeting, Cardoso said the reforms, through decisive monetary policy tightening, revolutionary foreign exchange market transparency, and fortified financial governance, were already yielding fruits, by laying the solid foundation for reshaping Nigeria’s financial landscape on the path of sustainable recovery.
“These reforms aren’t merely policy adjustments,” Cardoso told his audience, adding that “they are foundational pillars for rebuilding Nigeria’s economic architecture for generations to come.”
He said despite inheriting a crisis of confidence in the financial system at the beginning, the CBN under his management was able to tackle the issue with unwavering conviction, and determination to restore market confidence. With a resolute stance not to give in to pressure not to steer the course of reforms, Cardoso said the Bank’s irreversible commitment to financial orthodoxy and stability has moved the country’s economy on the path to lasting stability.
During a fireside chat with Nobel Prize-winning economist, Dr. James Robinson, Cardoso equally articulated his dream to continue to pursue the agenda to transform the apex bank into a world-class financial institution that command respect on the global stage, while delivering excellence through its vision to its people at home.
In his contribution to the panel discussion during the event, the Deputy Governor in charge of Economic Policy of the CBN, Muhammad Sani Abdullahi, presented highlights of the growing foreign exchange performance, declining inflationary trend and strengthening external reserves.
“We’re witnessing the green shoots of recovery,” Abdullahi said, adding that: “With our market-determined exchange rate and transparent, rules-based policy framework, international confidence in Nigeria’s economy is unmistakably returning.”
For the Adviser to the CBN Governor on Stakeholder Engagement and Strategic Communication, Dr. Nkiru Balonwu, the forum served as a watershed moment in Nigeria’s engagement with global markets pointing out that it represented more than just a conversation, but an unprecedented opening of the books on the CBN’s transformation journey under Governor Cardoso.
“We’re not just sharing our progress report; we’re co-creating the roadmap for sustainable partnerships that will unlock Nigeria’s true economic potential,” she declared.
During the panel made up of Joyce Chang of JPMorgan Chase; Jason Rekate of Citi Bnak; Razia Khan of Standard Chartered Bank, and Ahmad Zuaiter of Jadara Capital Partners, discussion anchored by Gavin Serkin of New Markets Media & Intelligence, focussed on the theme: “Repricing Nigeria: Assessing the Scope for Sustained Change.”
The consensus of the panel members highlighted Nigeria’s remarkable resurgence, which pointed to the country’s strengthened economic fundamentals, enhanced governance frameworks, and crystal-clear policy direction as magnets for renewed international investment.
To further highlight Nigeria’s huge potentials to prospective investors, distinguished members of the Nigerian community in the Diaspora, including Mr. Robert Agbede, Prof. Melvin Ayogu, and Dr. Aloysius Ordu, who represented the CBN Board and Monetary Policy Committee, underscored Cardoso’s commitment to harnessing CBN’s global talent network to the country’s advantage.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), Temi Popoola, who moderated the Question & Answer session stimulated further insights into the benefits of the Cardoso-led reforms at the CBN, while Director of Banking Supervision at the CBN, Dr. Olubukola Akinniyi Akinwunmi, reinforced the CBN’s transformation narrative in his closing remarks.
As the curtain fell on the landmark gathering, the take home message for participants was that its essence transcended typical global investment fora, by creating a platform for genuine dialogue between Nigeria’s financial experts and their counterparts in global investment community, including global investors, influential Nigerians in the Diaspora as well as corporate leaders.
The session provided an opportunity for an unfettered, transparent and objective assessment of progress and analysis of future challenges, to lay a solid foundation for building enduring partnerships and substantial long-term capital investment flows into the country.
What was apparent at the end of the meeting was a vision and mission of the Cardoso-led management to reestablish the CBN as a beacon of credibility, transparency and excellence, respected both globally and locally, as well as trusted with the capacity to power Nigeria’s ascent in the world economy.
