Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, has revealed that diaspora remittances into Nigeria have surged to $600 million monthly, tripling from previous levels and signalling renewed investor and market confidence.
Speaking at the 2026 Monetary Policy Forum in Abuja, Cardoso described the sharp increase as a key indicator of improving economic fundamentals driven by ongoing reforms.
“Diaspora remittances have risen from $200 million to $600 million monthly, with a target of $1 billion by end-2026,” he said.
He linked the growth to improved foreign exchange policies and rising trust in the financial system.
“FX market confidence is improving, with verified backlogs cleared and parallel market premium below 2%,” Cardoso stated.
The CBN Governor emphasised that Nigeria’s economic recovery is being driven by coordinated policy actions across sectors.
“Macroeconomic stability in Nigeria is a shared responsibility requiring strong collaboration between fiscal authorities, banks, and the private sector,” he noted.
Cardoso added that broader reforms are beginning to yield results, pointing to easing inflation and stronger fiscal discipline.
“Inflation is trending downward, reflecting disciplined and data-driven monetary policy,” he said.
He also highlighted a significant reduction in government reliance on central bank financing.
“Ways and Means advances declined from N26.95 trillion in 2023 to N2.84 trillion in 2026,” he disclosed.
According to him, Nigeria has “turned a corner” through tighter monetary policy, FX reforms, and banking sector recapitalisation.
Also speaking, Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, commended the alignment between fiscal and monetary authorities.
He praised the “strong fiscal-monetary policy coordination amongst stakeholders,” noting that such synergy is critical for sustaining growth.
SweetCrude Reports noted that the rise in remittances could boost foreign exchange liquidity, support the Naira, and strengthen Nigeria’s external reserves if the upward trend is sustained.
