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The Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN) has flayed the increase in the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 18.5 per cent, saying it would increase the lending rate and worsen the low competitiveness of the manufacturing sector. Speaking on behalf of the association, MAN’s Director-General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, pointed out that his team has been clamoring for single-digit lending rates to allow manufacturers to access needed funds to boost the sector’s performance. He added that the hike, like the previous ones, is evidence that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is either unperturbed about their plight or unable to fathom out a more creative policy mix that would reflate the sector. The MPC raised the MPR to 18.5 per cent from 18 per cent which was fixed at the 290th meeting of the committee held less than two months ago. According to CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, the decision is to curtail the rising inflation, which stood at 22.22 per cent according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in April 2023. The MPR increase was the seventh in a stretch but the inflation rate continues to rise despite the many increases, suggesting that the continuous increase is not yielding the desired result.

Guardian