The Capital Market Academics of Nigeria (CMAN) has commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for its recent monetary reforms and urged the apex bank to ensure a gradual moderation of interest rates as inflation expectations continue to improve.

The president of CMAN, Uche Uwaleke, made the call at a press conference organised by the association ahead of its second biennial conference on Monday in Abuja.

Mr Uwaleke said any moderation in the interest rate environment should be gradual and complemented by fiscal measures to address supply-side constraints.

According to him, excessively high interest rates, while helping to moderate aggregate demand, also raise borrowing costs, discourage productive investment and constrain business expansion.

He said that as inflationary pressures become increasingly structural and cost-push, monetary policy should rely less on repeated increases in the Monetary Policy Rate as the primary instrument for controlling inflation.

Mr Uwaleke commended the CBN for what he described as courageous and coordinated measures to restore confidence in Nigeria’s financial system, particularly the successful clearance of more than seven billion dollars in outstanding foreign exchange obligations inherited from previous years.

He also observed that the federal government’s domestic borrowing remained heavily concentrated in conventional federal government of Nigeria bonds, which account for nearly 80 per cent of domestic debt instruments.

According to him, most of the borrowings are not directly linked to identifiable development projects.

He said CMAN was recommending a significant increase in the issuance of project-linked infrastructure instruments, including Sukuk bonds, green bonds and other thematic infrastructure securities.

According to him, such instruments would improve transparency, boost investor confidence and ensure that borrowed funds are channelled into clearly defined development projects with measurable economic and social impact.

Mr Uwaleke also advised state governments to increasingly access long-term financing through the capital market instead of relying heavily on short-term commercial bank loans to fund long-term infrastructure projects.

He said such maturity mismatches heightened refinancing risks and placed unnecessary pressure on state finances.

“The capital market offers a more sustainable financing framework for infrastructure that can ultimately improve productivity, reduce business costs and ensure that macroeconomic gains translate into meaningful improvements in the daily lives of Nigerians.

“Equitable and inclusive growth requires more than stable macroeconomic indicators. It requires deliberate investments that improve business productivity, expand employment opportunities, strengthen infrastructure and enhance citizens’ welfare,” he said.

Mr Uwaleke said the Nigerian capital market had the capacity to finance infrastructure, support entrepreneurship, mobilise domestic savings, attract long-term investment and stimulate sustainable economic growth.

He said that realising the market’s full potential would require coordinated efforts by the government, regulators, market operators, financial institutions, investors, and the academic community.

Mr Uwaleke reaffirmed the CMAN’s commitment to supporting the country’s economic development through research, evidence-based policy advocacy, stakeholder engagement and stronger collaboration between academia and industry.

The theme of the association’s second biennial conference is “The Nigerian Capital Market as a Catalyst for Equitable and Inclusive Growth”. 

(NAN)