Nigeria’s gross external reserves have surpassed $46 billion, marking the strongest buffer the country has built since 2018, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Yemi Cardoso announced on Tuesday.
Speaking at the 20th anniversary colloquium of the bank’s Monetary Policy Department in Abuja, Cardoso described the milestone as evidence that the combination of tighter monetary policy, improved oil receipts, and growing non-oil export earnings is beginning to yield results.
“This is the first time in more than seven years that our reserves have crossed the $46 billion threshold,” the governor said. “More importantly, the current level now provides comfortable cover for more than 10 months of Nigeria’s import bill.”
The significant build-up comes after a prolonged period of reserve depletion triggered by falling crude prices, subsidy-related spending pressures, and large-scale dollar interventions in the foreign-exchange market between 2019 and 2023.
Analysts say the rebound has been supported by higher crude production following the resolution of some pipeline vandalism issues, rising global oil prices, remittances remaining resilient, and a sharp reduction in the CBN’s direct defence of the naira since the exchange-rate unification in mid-2023.
The improved reserve position has also helped stabilise the naira in recent months and reduced the premium between the official and parallel market rates to its lowest level in years.
Market participants see the stronger reserves as giving the Monetary Policy Committee additional room to maintain its hawkish stance on interest rates without triggering panic dollar demand.
With reserves now at their healthiest in nearly a decade, Nigeria appears better positioned to weather external shocks and meet its maturing external debt obligations in the coming years.
