The Federal Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria have formalised a Memorandum of Understanding that sets out six areas of closer cooperation between fiscal and monetary authorities. The document, published on Wednesday 23 September 2026, focuses on tackling inflation, keeping fuel prices steady, improving data exchange and coordinating government financing.
Officials said the arrangement is designed to make fiscal and monetary policies reinforce each other in pursuit of sustainable growth and lasting price stability.
Aligned Forecasts and Better Information Flow
Under the MoU the two institutions will work towards consistent projections covering inflation, GDP growth, government revenue, liquidity conditions, financing needs and the external sector. They will also put in place clearer channels for sharing information and resolving situations where fiscal and monetary measures risk pulling in opposite directions.
The government intends to broaden the range of economic statistics available to policymakers. This includes a Producer Price Index, employment figures and productivity data, to be developed together with the National Bureau of Statistics. The additional data is expected to support the Central Bank’s move towards a full inflation-targeting framework.
Fiscal Discipline and Lower Input Costs
On the spending side the agreement commits the government to tighter fiscal discipline while introducing practical steps to ease the cost of food, energy and logistics. Planned measures include maintaining strategic grain reserves, providing support to farmers, investing in rural roads and working with state governments on road infrastructure.
The MoU also calls for continued strengthening of key fiscal oversight bodies, among them the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, the Bureau of Public Procurement, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and the Office of the Auditor-General.
Fuel Prices Without a Return to Subsidies
Authorities will seek to keep pump prices relatively stable without bringing back consumption subsidies that could distort the market. The agreement notes that targeted tax exemptions and a more stable exchange rate can help moderate the cost of petrol at the pump.
On the financing front the two institutions will tighten coordination of government borrowing and cash management. The aim is to limit the risk that public-sector demand for funds crowds out private-sector credit.
The MoU follows recent remarks by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, who defended the current deregulation policy. Speaking on Channels Television he noted that Nigeria’s average pump price of about N1,430 a litre remains lower than the N1,633 recorded in the United States.
For businesses and households the agreement is a coordination framework rather than an instant solution to price pressures. Its real impact will depend on how quickly the promised improvements in data, forecasting and borrowing discipline feed through into lower inflation and more predictable fuel prices.
