The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has projected that diaspora remittances are expected to rise to N31.7871 trillion when fourth-quarter 2024 figures are released.
The substantial increase in diaspora remittances was attributed to the reforms carried out by the CBN, especially the foreign exchange (FX) reforms designed to attract more FX into the country. This development will further strengthen FX supply and contribute to naira stability.
Recall that diaspora remittances rose from N12.478 trillion in 2023 to N22.734 trillion by the end of the third quarter of 2024.
CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, who spoke at the 2025 Monetary Policy Forum, which brought together ministers, heads of government agencies involved in economic matters, and private sector stakeholders, disclosed that without its decisive policy interventions, the country’s inflation rate would have soared to 42.81 percent by December 2024.
“Counterfactual estimates suggest that without these decisive policy interventions, inflation could have reached 42.81 per cent by December 2024,” Cardoso stated. He also assured of the bank’s commitment to tackling inflation in 2025 using orthodox monetary policy measures.
According to him, throughout 2024, the CBN implemented bold policy measures across six Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meetings. These included raising the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by a cumulative 875 basis points to 27.50 per cent; increasing the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) of Other Depository Corporations (ODCs) by 1750 basis points to 50.00 per cent and adjusting the asymmetric corridor around the MPR.
To strengthen the financial system and ensure macroeconomic stability, the CBN also undertook critical reforms, including unifying multiple exchange rate windows to enhance efficiency in the foreign exchange (FX) market. As a result, remittances through International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) increased by 79.4 per cent in the first three quarters of 2024, reaching $4.18 billion compared to $2.33 billion in the same period of 2023.
The apex bank, Cardoso said, has further restored market confidence by clearing a backlog of FX commitments amounting to $7.0 billion, improving FX liquidity. It also lifted restrictions on 41 items previously banned from accessing the official FX market since 2015. Additionally, the bank introduced new minimum capital requirements for banks, effective by March 2026, to strengthen Nigeria’s banking sector and position it to support the ambition of a $1 trillion economy.
Other initiatives included the launch of the Women’s Financial Inclusion Initiative (WIFI) under the National Financial Inclusion Strategy, aimed at bridging the gender gap in financial access. Cardoso also noted the introduction of the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Code, which promotes integrity, transparency, and efficiency in the FX market through six core principles designed to rebuild trust and inspire confidence.
