By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Yemi Cardoso, says Nigeria will not need to persuade foreign or local investors to invest if the country maintains strong and predictable macroeconomic fundamentals.
Speaking at the CBN’s 2025 Executive Seminar in Abuja on Tuesday, Cardoso said investor confidence naturally follows stability and credible economic policies.
According to him, “Stability is at the core of advancing Nigeria’s policy framework through inflation targeting. Investors run away from lack of predictability. The more predictability you have, the more incentive investors have to come to your market.”
Cardoso added that once the fundamentals are right, “you don’t have to beg anybody to come and invest. Investors naturally gravitate to where there is stability and predictability.”
“No one needs to know anyone in CBN to get things done”
The CBN governor emphasized that his leadership is committed to transparency, noting that processes no longer depend on personal connections.
“You will not have to know the governor, the DGs, or the directors. You don’t come to the Central Bank every day just because you need something. That era is gone,” he said.
Nigeria must not return to excessive Ways and Means
Cardoso warned against a repeat of the period when federal borrowing from the CBN—known as Ways and Means—rose to what he described as “frightening levels.”
He said the era of uncontrolled interventions and unsustainable borrowing should never have occurred, stressing the need to protect the stability achieved in the last two and a half years.
“We must deepen and consolidate reform gains to reinvigorate capital flows and safeguard Nigeria’s financial markets. Investor confidence depends on credible policies, transparent markets, and sound governance,” he said.
“We must bake a bigger pie”
Cardoso urged stakeholders to support reforms aimed at growing the economy.
“Our GDP today, relative to our population, is not where we want it to be. We must bake a bigger pie. Everyone must take ownership to sustain the reform momentum for the benefit of all Nigerians.”
Fiscal–monetary collaboration key to reforms — Minister
In her remarks, Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, commended the synergy between fiscal and monetary authorities.
She said boosting production and competitiveness would require reducing energy costs and simplifying business registration processes.
“We want reductions in the cost of energy, shorter timelines for registering businesses, securing permits, and carrying out basic engagements with government agencies,” she stated.
Uzoka-Anite explained that Nigeria’s economic challenges are structural, not cyclical, noting that neither monetary tightening nor fiscal expansion alone can deliver sustainable growth.
She disclosed that the Ministry of Finance and the CBN jointly developed the Dis-Inflation and Growth Acceleration Strategy (DGAS) to reposition the economy on a path of stability, productivity, and competitiveness.
“We identified what needed to be done and began working immediately. DGAS integrates key reforms needed to stabilize prices and drive long-term growth,” she said.
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