Dr. Adetona Adedeji, the Acting Director of the Banking Supervision Department at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), affirmed the bank’s decision to prioritise combating inflation over addressing rising unemployment rates during the second episode of the CBN Talk podcast.
Adedeji emphasised that the central bank’s primary goal is to curb inflation, acknowledging that this approach may have impacts in other areas.
He stated, “The ultimate objective is for us to combat inflation. Whatever it takes to fight inflation, we are going to do that. It may have some impact in some areas.”
He further explained the challenges of simultaneously addressing both inflation and unemployment, highlighting the importance of prioritising inflation control for economic stability and growth. Adedeji emphasised that fighting inflation effectively leads to more stable conditions for discussing economic growth.
He stated, “We can’t fight two things at the same time. There will be trade-offs. If you are fighting inflation, you can’t fight unemployment at the same time. So, you have to choose: either you fight inflation or you fight unemployment.”
Adedeji’s remarks underscored the CBN’s strategic choice in policy direction, focusing on stabilizing the economy’s general price levels before addressing job creation and unemployment issues. This approach reflects the bank’s commitment to ensuring long-term economic stability and growth by first tackling the more immediate threat of inflation.
