Nigeria is considering the issuance of a US diaspora bond next year to raise the country’s monthly diaspora remittances. The Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Olayemi Cardoso said this on the sidelines of the World Bank and IMF meetings in Washington.
According to him, the bond issuance will targeted at raising a monthly remittance of $1billion. The proposed diaspora bond could be a huge financial instrument for the government.
Nigeria has seen foreign remittances double in the last one year as the country’s foreign reserve surpassed $40 billion dollars already. It hopes to raise this even further with the introduction of the US diaspora bond next year.
The Nigerian government removed subsidies on fuel and unified the exchange rate in what it called painful but necessary measures.
These measures have triggered record high inflation, massive depreciation of the naira and a huge cost of living crisis.
However, Cardoso says these policies are starting to yield fruit given the increase foreign reserve. The government also believes there is a growing investors confidence with the October 2024 bond issuance attracting N289.597 billion.
All of these factors have renewed the government optimism that these reforms will soon bring the much anticipated results for the country’s economy.
The government must however rapidly take the rising inflation figures, address the cost of living crisis and ease the hardship of the people.
