The Central bank of Nigeria says diaspora remittances reached $4.22 billion between January and October 2024.
This figure is almost double the $2.62 billion recorded in the same period in 2023.
CBN Governor Olemi Cardoso disclosed this information while addressing the Committee on Business, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions at a joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday.
Cardozo said that the annual growth was around 61.1 per cent, indicating significant growth.
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He also provided a monthly review, showing that remittances increased from $336 million in September 2024 to $402 million in October 2024.
The governor attributed this development to the success of remittances, the success of President Bola Tinubu’s policies and the confidence of the Nigerian diaspora to support the country’s development.
Cardoso also predicted that under current conditions, remittances will continue to increase towards the end of this year.
The Nigerian diaspora sends between $20 billion and $25 billion annually, according to the World Bank, but most of this money is not channelled into private investment.
The World Bank has highlighted that remittances are a significant source of household income in low- and middle-income countries.
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They play a key role in reducing poverty and improving nutrition and have been linked to better outcomes such as increased birth weight and home schooling for the poor.
Cardoso also claimed that the country’s $42 billion in foreign exchange reserves could finance imports of goods and services for more than nine months.
This is because the central bank has assured Nigerians that the economy will recover by 2025.
“The exchange rate increased from $38.35 billion on September 30, 2024 to $42.01 billion on December 12, 2024,” the central bank official said.
He explained that the increase in exchange rate during this period was mainly due to petroleum tax and third-party revenues in the third quarter of 2024.
Regular activities maintained surplus and business balance improved.
“Our foreign exchange can support goods and services for over 9.09 months or only 13.91 months, which is higher than the international standard. It can respond in 3.0 months with poor resistance to shocks,” he said.
On the cash crunch, the CBN chief reiterated his new policy to impose a fine of N150 million on all banks in the country that illegally print new naira notes for cheaters and criminals.
