Nigeria’s external finances have recorded their strongest performance in years, with foreign capital inflows hitting $20.98 billion between January and October 2025, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Olayemi Cardoso announced on Friday night.
Speaking at the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria’s 60th Annual Bankers’ Dinner in Lagos, Cardoso described the figure as evidence of rapidly recovering investor confidence after years of capital flight.
The $20.98 billion received so far this year is already 70% higher than the entire 2024 total of $12.3 billion and more than five times the $3.9 billion recorded in 2023.
“This sharp turnaround reflects the positive market reaction to sustained macroeconomic stabilisation, foreign-exchange market reforms, and greater transparency in the financial system,” the governor said.
Nigeria’s external sector posted its best quarterly performances in recent memory in 2025. The current account surplus jumped 85% from $2.85 billion in the first quarter to $5.5.28 billion in the second quarter, powered by robust non-oil exports and steadier FX inflows.
Gross foreign reserves have also climbed to $46.7 billion as of mid-November – the highest level since early 2018 and sufficient to cover more than 10 months of imports, a decade-high buffer.
Crucially, Cardoso emphasised that the reserve build-up has been “organic” rather than debt-financed, driven by higher export earnings, returning portfolio and direct investment flows, and improved remittance channels.
Non-oil exports rose more than 18% year-on-year, benefiting from a more competitive, market-driven exchange rate. Diaspora remittances recorded an approximate 12% increase in 2025, with further growth expected in 2026 following the rollout of the Non-Resident Bank Verification Number (BVN) system and enhanced settlement transparency.
The CBN governor reaffirmed commitment to the current willing-buyer, willing-seller FX framework, describing the naira flexibility as a critical “shock absorber” that prevents excessive volatility while restoring price signals for exporters and investors.
With two months still remaining in the year, analysts now expect full-year 2025 capital importation to comfortably surpass $25 billion – a level last seen before the 2014–2016 oil price crash – marking one of the most dramatic reversals in Nigeria’s post-independence balance-of-payments history.
