The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday disclosed that Nigerian foreign exchange through diaspora inflow will reach $1.0 billion per month by the end of 2026.

Reviewing reforms at the 2026 Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the Governor of CBN, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso said the reforms of the Apex Bank have now repositioned diaspora remittances among Nigeria’s most stable FX , often outperforming oil receipts during periods of market stress.

“Monthly inflows through formal channels have tripled since the reforms from about US$200 million to US$600 million, with a policy target of US$1.0 billion per month by end-2026, representing a structural shift, rather than a mere cyclical growth.

“In addition, improved settlement architecture and tighter prudential controls have supported FX liquidity. Collectively, these measures narrowed the parallel market premium to under 2.0 %, restored correspondent banking confidence, and improved overall market functioning.”

He also disclosed that Nigeria’s Balance of Payments has strengthened, recording a surplus of US$4.59 billion in Q3 2025, compared with a deficit of US$2.77 billion earlier in the year

“Gross external reserves increased from US$38.34 billion in February 2025 to US$50.12 billion in February 2026, representing a 30.73 percent year‑on‑year increase, the highest level recorded in 13 years. Similarly, Net External Reserves have surged from US$3.99 billion at the end of 2023 to US$34.80 billion at the end of 2025, representing a 772.2 per cent increase and higher than total gross reserves in 2023.

“This improvement was reinforced by enhanced reserve‑management practices, integration of London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) ‑certified gold into the national reserves, restructuring of the external asset‑management framework, and the initiation of a second global custodian to improve risk diversification.”

He said the theme of the MPC is “Strengthening Nigeria’s Macroeconomic Stability Through Effective Monetary Policy: The Role of Critical Stakeholders”, is both timely and consequential as the country strives to deepen and consolidate macroeconomic stability in an environment shaped by significant global and domestic challenges.

” When our administration assumed office in September 2023, the macroeconomic environment was marked by pronounced distortions and significant imbalances, with the economy facing heightened vulnerability and elevated stability risks.

“Headline inflation rose to 29.9 per cent in January 2024, reflecting sustained food price pressures, exchange‑rate pass‑through, and structural supply constraints. Excessive monetary financing had compromised policy integrity; Ways and Means advances had climbed to ₦26.95 trillion by May 2023, far beyond statutory thresholds, weakening the monetary‑fiscal interface and eroding credibility.

“The foreign exchange market was severely impaired, with over US$7.0 billion in verified FX backlogs, constraining private‑sector operations and damaging external confidence. Parallel market premium widened sharply to over 60%, and the exchange‑rate architecture became increasingly fragmented. External reserves were under severe pressure, with net foreign reserves dropping to as low as US$3.99 billion at the end of 2023, while Nigeria’s balance of payments position oscillated between deficits and instability. These conditions collectively undermined the transmission of monetary policy, weakened investor sentiment, and strained the credibility of the Central Bank at home and abroad.

“With a clear understanding of the gravity of these challenges, we moved swiftly to implement far‑reaching, bold but necessary reforms aimed at restoring credibility, normalizing policy conduct, rebuilding confidence, and stabilizing the macroeconomic environment.

“The first critical step was the restoration of monetary–fiscal discipline. Ways and Means financing was reined-in decisively, declining from ₦26.95 trillion to ₦3.51 trillion in December 2024 and further to ₦2.84 trillion by January 2026, marking one of the sharpest fiscal consolidations in recent history.

“This action restored compliance with the law, strengthened central bank independence, signalled to markets about the Bank’s commitment to orthodoxy and transparency, and sent a clear message that the era of fiscal dominance had come to an end”.

The Governor explained that “we complemented these actions with a firm but data-driven tightening cycle. Throughout 2024, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) maintained a restrictive stance to rein in inflation expectations by raising the policy rate cumulatively by 875 basis points from 18.75% in January 2024 to 27.50% in November 2024.

“While the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) was kept at elevated levels for most of the year, improved inflation dynamics enabled the first policy rate cut in five years. A modest easing was carefully calibrated, with the policy rate reduced from 27.5 percent to 27.0 percent in September 2025, followed by a further cut to 26.5 percent in February 2026.

“Our staff counterfactual simulations revealed that, without these firm and coordinated actions, inflation would have been significantly higher, and inflation expectations would have become significantly de‑anchored, underscoring the importance of robust policy communication, disciplined implementation, and strengthened coordination with fiscal authorities.”

“A major anchor of our reform programme was the comprehensive restructuring of the foreign exchange market. Through decisive actions, including the clearance of over US$7.0 billion in verified FX backlogs, implementation of a rule‑based willing‑buyer willing‑seller system, strengthened reporting requirements, enhanced market surveillance, and reforms to interbank trading, the FX market regained transparency and credibility.

These reforms have laid the groundwork for the Bank to implement a carefully sequenced transitional roadmap to inflation targeting, thereby strengthening the primacy and effectiveness of price stability mandate,” he stated.

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