Emefiele said all 10 members of the monetary policy committee voted to hold rates, marking the ninth decision to hold since the bank cut rates in September 2020.
Nigeria's double-digit inflation and low revenues have hampered the government's ability to stimulate the economy.
"A hold position will signal MPC's realisation of the fragility of the growth recovery," Emefiele said.
Inflation, which ticked up to 15.63% in December, is expected to moderate at the end of the first quarter, the governor said.
President Muhammadu Buhari's government on Monday walked back on a plan to scrap a costly fuel subsidy saying the timing was not right as this could increase inflation pressures.
A cabinet minister said on Tuesday the government wanted to keep the subsidy for another 18 months, which will disappoint foreign lenders, such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) who have constantly flagged the subsidy as a factor contributing to Nigeria's large deficit.
Africa's largest economy grew just over 4% in the third quarter, its fourth consecutive quarterly expansion, after a COVID-19-induced recession in 2020. However, growth slowed compared with the previous quarter.
(Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha, writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe;Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
By Chijioke Ohuocha
