The last meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the CBN was held on March 1st – 2nd. Here is the excerpt from the communique on the key decisions made:

Central Bank of Nigeria Communiqué No. 68 of the 213th Monetary Policy Committee Meeting, March 1-2, 2010
Decisions
In the light of the above, the Committee unanimously took the following decisions:
1. MPR remains unchanged at 6.0 per cent;
2. Standing Lending Facility interest rate remains unchanged at 8.00 per cent, while the Standing Deposit Facility rate is lowered from 2.0 per cent to 1.0 per cent;
3. Granted liquidity status to bonds issued by state governments, subject to their meeting the specified eligibility criteria. Detailed guidelines will be issued in due course, principally related to meeting strict standards of fiscal responsibility; and
4. To continue with the quantitative easing policy by providing N500 billion facility for investment in debentures issued by the Bank of Industry (BOI) in accordance with Section 31 of the CBN Act 2007, for investment in emergency power projects dedicated to industrial clusters. The funds are to be channeled through the Bank of Industry for on-lending to the DMBs at a maximum interest rate of 1.0 per cent for disbursement of loans with a tenor of 10 – 15 years at concessionary interest rate of not more than 7.0 per cent. The Committee also approved in principle the extension of this facility to DMBs for the purpose of refinancing/ restructuring existing portfolios to manufacturers. However, the final approval for this will come after the consideration of the report of a technical committee to be set up to work out the modalities, for implementation within one month.

Membership of the committee comprises the CBN, the Bankers’ Committee Sub-committee on Economic Development, Bank of Industry, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), and National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME). The African Finance Corporation (AFC) will serve as technical adviser on the power project. In the case of the power projects, the following projects of the Federal Government will be covered under this facility subject to their being restructured into commercially viable projects on which banks are willing to take credit risks: Lagos (500 MW); Kano (250 MW); Onitsha/Nnewi (200 MW); Port Harcourt/Aba (200MW); Kaduna (225 MW); Funtua/Gusua/MFashi/Zaria (200 MW); Lokoja (200MW); and Maiduguri/Gombe/Bauchi (200 MW). Other power projects currently being financed by banks may also be refinanced from the fund. However, banks will be required to secure the funds drawn with eligible securities. In addition, real sector projects certified bankable that emanate from the State Governors’ engagement with the Bankers’ Committee in line with the outcome of the Enugu Retreat will be accommodated under the facility.

You can download the communique below.
Communiqué No. 68 of the 213th Monetary Policy Committee Meeting (103)

And here is the press release:
Press Release of the 213th MPC Meeting (97)