Center for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has praised the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso’s transformative leadership over the past two years, highlighting significant gains in transparency, credibility, and financial system stability.
 
The non-governmental organisation think tank described Cardoso’s tenure as bringing about a significant transformation of Nigeria’s financial system, particularly through bold foreign exchange reforms and institutional strengthening measures.
 
CPPE’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Muda Yusuf, noted that the CBN under Cardoso had successfully addressed longstanding challenges, including foreign exchange market distortions, weak corporate governance, and excessive monetary financing that had contributed to macroeconomic instability.
 
The report identified the liberalisation and unification of the foreign exchange market as the most significant reform under Cardoso’s leadership.  According to CPPE, the elimination of multiple FX windows reduced opportunities for arbitrage and corruption while improving market efficiency and attracting higher autonomous inflows.

“The transparency and credibility gained from these reforms have restored confidence and improved price discovery, allowing for more efficient allocation of FX resources,” the report stated.
 
The organisation also commended improvements in institutional governance, noting reduced political interference in policy decisions and enhanced operational independence. The CBN’s curtailment of unrestrained monetary financing was highlighted as a key factor in reducing fiscal dominance and macroeconomic distortions.
 
In the banking sector, CPPE praised the introduction of recapitalisation measures to enhance bank soundness and strengthened regulatory frameworks designed to safeguard stability against global and domestic shocks.