CBN Reforms Will Yield Results In Q2, says Adeniyi

By Olusegun Obisanya

The Chief Executive Officer, Cedrus Group Africa, Olubusayo Adeniyi, has said that the reforms and policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will start yielding results from the second quarter of 2024.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, Cedrus CEO disclosed that the apex bank is working to ensure that some of the loopholes in the financial sector were blocked.

Adeniyi stated: “The issue is that we are not being patient enough in Nigeria. We want to see results immediately but it doesn’t work like that. Many of the reforms rolled out by the CBN in 2023 will start to yield results in the two to three months or the second quarter.”

According to the investment banker, some of the agents within the financial sector are exploiting these loopholes, the major reason for the continued depreciation of the value of naira at the foreign exchange market.

On Wednesday, the naira experienced a historic dip against the dollar on the official market, according to data from FMDQ Exchange.

The official market concluded with the naira closing at 1,482.57 against the dollar, reflecting the intensity of the currency’s downward trajectory.

To stabilise the nation’s volatile exchange rate, the apex bank in a circular ordered Deposit Money Banks to sell their excess dollar stock latest February 1, 2024.

The financial regulator believes some commercial banks hold long-term foreign exchange positions to enable them to profit from the volatile movements of exchange rates.

The CEO expressed optimism that the naira will regain value in the coming weeks as the CBN continues to block loopholes.

“What is causing the rise in the exchange rate is that certain people are taking advantage of the exposure of the government. That is why the CBN is charged with the responsibility of rolling out reforms and policies that will reduce that and that’s what we are seeing on banks.

“And in a couple of weeks, we will start seeing the capacity of the naira coming out and truly is not driven by economic forces. It is not a situation that calls for panicking. People should just do their business and those who have nothing to do with the forex should leave the dollar,” he added.

Adeniyi explained further that the major problem was not scarcity of forex in the financial sector but a challenge of production across the sectors of the economy.

“Our focus should be on economic drivers. Production is the driver of every economy, when we’re not producing and we are consuming, definitely will be on the other side. So, the capacity of our production is what we should focus on. And that’s what I did, I should think about what to walk daily. If we have more production, there will be more supply and there will be exports. And then if we have exports it will boost our external reserves and our local currency will rebound,” he added.