Dangote kicks against CBN’s interest rate, says FG should protect businesses

Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the Dangote Group, has criticized the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for raising the interest rate to nearly 30 percent. 

Speaking at the Banquet Hall of the State House in Abuja during the opening session of a three-day summit organized by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on Tuesday, July 2, Dangote expressed concerns over the impact of the current interest rate regime on job creation and the growth of the manufacturing sector.

The CBN’s latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting saw the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) increase for the third consecutive time, rising from 24.75 percent to 26.25 percent.

“Nobody can create jobs with an interest rate of 30%. No growth will happen,” Dangote stated, highlighting the challenges faced by manufacturers in competing and expanding under such conditions. He also called for new policies to protect domestic industries and urged the government to provide an enabling environment for existing businesses, particularly manufacturers, to thrive.

He added; 

“We must look to leading countries in the West and the East who are actively protecting their domestic industries. Import dependence is equivalent to importing poverty and exporting jobs. No power, no growth, no prosperity. Similarly, no affordable financing, no growth, no prosperity. There is no industrialization without protection Ignoring these facts, is what gives rise to insecurity, banditry, kidnapping and abject poverty.”