The Central Bank of Nigeria has cut its benchmark interest rate from 26.5 per cent to 23 per cent, in the biggest rate adjustment of the current monetary policy cycle.
CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, announced the decision on Tuesday after the 307th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee in Abuja.
The MPC also recalibrated the standing facilities corridor to plus 50 and minus 300 basis points around the new rate, while retaining the Cash Reserve Requirement at 45 per cent for deposit money banks, 16 per cent for merchant banks and 75 per cent for non-Treasury Single Account public-sector deposits.
Cardoso said the decision should not be interpreted as a broad shift towards monetary easing, describing it instead as an operational reset and recalibration aimed at improving monetary policy transmission.
The rate cut comes amid easing inflation, with headline inflation falling to 15.39 per cent in August, from 15.43 per cent in July.
The CBN Governor also said the apex bank is prepared to contain excess liquidity as Nigeria approaches another election cycle.
He said the bank will monitor currency in circulation, banking-system liquidity, monetary aggregates and foreign-exchange demand, while deploying appropriate tools to mop up excess liquidity if necessary.
The MPC said Nigeria's economy grew by 4.43 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 3.89 per cent in the first quarter. The next MPC meeting is scheduled for November 23 and 24.
