The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria has decided to maintain the country’s benchmark interest rate at 26.5 per cent.
CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, disclosed the decision on Wednesday after the conclusion of the committee’s 305th meeting held in Abuja.
Cardoso said, “The Committee’s decision is as follows: retain the monetary policy rate at 26.5 per cent.”
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The latest decision comes months after the apex bank reduced the rate by 50 basis points in February 2026, following an earlier decision to hold rates steady during the MPC meeting in November 2025.
The MPC’s move to keep the rate unchanged comes amid a fresh rise in inflation across the country.
Data from the latest Consumer Price Index released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that Nigeria’s headline inflation increased slightly to 15.69 per cent in April 2026, up from 15.38 per cent recorded in March 2026. The figure represents a 0.31 percentage point rise.
More details later…