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The governor of the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, yesterday
underscored the importance of political will by leaders of member
countries of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), to realise the
objectives of the regional economic integration.

The governor, who
was speaking at the opening of the 24th meeting of the WAMZ committee
of Central Bank governors in Abuja, said the delays in the take off of
a new commencement date for the monetary union is attributed to the
lack of political will to push the process of integration to a logical
conclusion.

The objectives for
the WAMZ initiative include an attempt by member nations towards
maintenance of stable prices of goods and services; establishment of
sound public finances and monetary conditions; as well as maintenance
of stable balance of payments for member states, with the ultimate goal
of creating a monetary union.

Mr. Sanusi said the
commencement of the monetary union, which was initially set for 2003,
had to be extended thrice as a result of the inability of member
countries to attain the convergence level required for the introduction
of the common currency.

Though a new
commencement date for the monetary union of on or before January 1,
2015 was adopted by the heads of states and governments of the WAMZ at
its summit in Abuja, on June 22, 2009, the CBN boss said no significant
progress has been made towards realising it, as most member countries
have not been able to meet stipulated criteria.

He pointed out that
the meeting would provide the opportunity to review the progress on the
WAMZ programmes and chart the way forward.

The meeting is
expected to consider the recommendations of the 30th meeting of the
technical committee of the WAMZ last Tuesday, which reviewed the
developments and policy responses required to satisfy the stipulated
convergence criteria.

A review of the
impact of the global economic recovery indicated that the impressive
growth in emerging Asian economies, particularly China, was stalled in
the wake of the Euro zone debt crisis as well as the waning impact of
the huge monetary and fiscal stimulus packages implemented by many
countries.

He said the
resultant effect on the economic performance in WAMZ was that overall
compliance with the macro-economic convergence criteria deteriorated,
with most member countries missing the criteria on single-digit
inflation rate and fiscal deficit, excluding grants.

“Only Liberia met
all four primary criteria, while The Gambia, Ghana, and Nigeria met
three primary criteria each. Sierra Leone met one criterion during the
period,” Mr. Sanusi said.

The four primary
criteria include achieving economic performance in WAMZ, with real
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth at an average of 7.2 per cent;
easing inflationary pressures through maintenance of stability in
commodity prices; improvement in domestic food production; and building
a strong gross external reserve.

Noting some limited progress recorded through the ongoing upgrading
of the payments systems and progress in the integration of financial
markets, Mr. Sanusi said some challenges remain to be resolved with
public finances, trade and financial sector development, to prepare
towards the launch of the single currency.