Inflation will decline significantly before end of 2026 — CBN

By Damilare Adeleye

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has projected that inflationary pressures in Nigeria will ease significantly before the end of 2026, expressing confidence that the economy is gradually returning to a disinflationary path that could eventually lead to single-digit inflation.

Victor Oboh, Director of the Monetary Policy Department at the apex bank, made this disclosure on Wednesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Business Morning programme.

“What the forecast is telling us is that, in no long time, we will return to our path of disinflation, and towards the end of the year, we will definitely be closer to the target that we have, which is moving towards single-digit inflation,” he said.

Oboh reaffirmed the CBN’s commitment to sustaining macroeconomic stability and supporting economic growth through collaboration with fiscal authorities and development finance institutions.

According to him, direct intervention programmes in sectors such as agriculture and industry should largely be driven by fiscal authorities, including government ministries and agencies, while the central bank focuses on ensuring a stable economic environment that encourages investment and supports price stability.

“You talk about agricultural intervention; for instance, we have a full-fledged Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. You talk about industries; you have trade and investment.”

“What the central bank is doing is to ensure that the environment is conducive. If you have a conducive business environment in terms of investor confidence, low and stable prices, and ensuring that investment can flow into the country, that will be able to support the efforts of the fiscal authorities,” he said.

Oboh noted that the CBN would continue supporting development finance institutions, such as the Bank of Industry and the Bank of Agriculture, to provide targeted interventions to critical sectors of the economy.

“There are development banking institutions like the Bank of Industry, which the Central Bank still continues to support. We have the Bank of Agriculture and other development financing institutions, and we believe those institutions should be able to work together with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the relevant fiscal authorities to provide targeted interventions to those areas that need them,” he added.

The CBN official also said the apex bank was providing advisory and technical support to the government and relevant agencies to ensure coordinated economic planning and sustainable growth.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria continues to provide advisory support and technical services to the government and other parastatals in a way that we will be able to work together and support growth in an optimal, conducive, and cohesive manner,” Oboh stated.

Speaking on global economic developments, he acknowledged that rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East could exert pressure on economies worldwide, including Nigeria, but maintained that the impact on the country’s inflation outlook would likely be short-lived.

“Our expectation, based on analysis, is that this shock from the Middle East is largely temporal,” he added.