The President of the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE), Mr. Chinedum Okereke, has said Nigeria’s high interest rate regime is crippling businesses despite the country recording a 3.87 per cent GDP growth in 2025.
Speaking at the association’s 47th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held recently in Lagos, Okereke said manufacturers continued to battle harsh operating conditions driven by high borrowing costs, multiple taxation, inflation and weak consumer purchasing power.
According to him, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which stood at 27 per cent for most of 2025, worsened the financial burden on businesses across the country.
“The huge increases over time in the past translated to high cost of borrowing, i.e., high interest rate, a development which evidently increased the debt burden of businesses and in like manner reduced their margins,” Okereke stated.
He noted that although Nigeria’s economy recorded modest growth and inflation slowed considerably during the year under review, ordinary Nigerians and businesses were yet to feel meaningful relief.
