Emefiele ‘optimistic’ MPC members will be confirmed by senate

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says the issue with the confirmation of members that would make up the monetary policy committee (MPC) is being dealt with.

The governor made this known in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday.

TheCable had reported that the committee might not be able to meet in January as a result of the senate’s refusal to confirm nominees for the 12-man committee.

At present, there are five members available — whereas the quorum is six out of 12 members, as defined by the second schedule of the CBN Act.

On July 4, the senate said it would suspend all executive confirmation requests until Ibrahim Magu is removed as the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The senate had refused to confirm Magu over allegations of corruption. He has remained in an acting position for the past two years.

“We are getting close to the MPC, but I can tell you that I’m optimistic that issues about the confirmation of our nominees are being dealt with,” Emefiele said.

The committee is responsible for determining interest rate.

The committee’s meeting is scheduled to hold in Abuja on January 22 and 23.

Speaking on the committee’s decision, Emefiele predicted that the rates would remain unchanged.

“I don’t think rates will change. Does economic data portend towards any significant changes in the policy rates? We don’t see that. Normally, when you begin the year, what you find is that you want to hold the policy rate steady,” he said.