Nigeria’s usable reserves stood at $859m in 2023 – CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that Nigeria had only $859 million in net usable external reserves when the current administration took over in 2023.

The apex bank said the figure was less than what the country needed to pay for one month of imports, a development it said highlighted the severe pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange position at the time.

The Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, Muhammad Abdullahi, disclosed this Tuesday at the opening of the 38th Seminar of Finance Correspondents and Business Editors in Abuja.

He said the CBN had since implemented a series of reforms that helped raise the country’s net external reserves to about $40 billion three years later.

Net external reserves refer to the foreign exchange that the country can actually use after setting aside dollars needed to meet known short-term obligations. This is different from gross reserves, which is the broader figure often reported by the CBN.

Abdullahi said the country’s foreign exchange market was deeply fragmented in 2023, with several exchange-rate windows operating alongside a large parallel market.

According to him, the gap between the official and parallel-market exchange rates averaged more than 60 per cent in 2022 and exceeded 100 per cent at some points later.

He said the situation made it difficult for businesses to know the exchange rate that would apply to their transactions and when they would be able to access foreign exchange.

The CBN official also disclosed that Nigeria had more than $7 billion in outstanding foreign exchange forward claims at the time, adding to uncertainty for businesses and investors.

He said the reforms began with the consolidation of the various foreign exchange windows in June 2023 and the adoption of a willing-buyer, willing-seller system.

The CBN also removed restrictions that had prevented 43 categories of imports from accessing the official foreign exchange market and reviewed outstanding forward claims, settling those found to be valid.

The reforms, he said, were aimed at creating a more transparent foreign exchange market, improving liquidity and restoring confidence.

The latest disclosure comes against the backdrop of a significant improvement in Nigeria’s reserve position. CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso told the Senate in July that gross external reserves stood at $52.73 billion as of July 9, 2026, while net external reserves had risen to more than $40 billion.

The CBN has linked the improvement to stronger foreign exchange inflows, including increased diaspora remittances, improved market operations and other reforms.

The development means that, compared with 2023, Nigeria now has a much larger buffer of usable foreign exchange to support international payments and cushion the economy against external shocks.

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