The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, says the rise in Nigeria’s external reserves is linked to the clearance of foreign exchange backlogs and greater transparency in the FX market.
As of Tuesday, the reserves stood at $42.35 billion. Cardoso made this known on Friday during a fireside chat at the inaugural CBN Governor Annual Lecture Series held at Lagos Business School, themed Next Generation Leadership in Monetary Policy and Nation Building.
He said clearing the verified backlog, which followed a Deloitte forensic audit that uncovered irregularities in forward contracts, was essential to restoring Nigeria’s credibility.
“When I took office, I made a promise to clear the verifiable backlog of monies owed by Nigeria to third parties. I had no idea how we would do it, but it was not negotiable. We needed to protect and maintain our integrity,” Cardoso said.
He described the decision as a “huge sacrifice” that strengthened investor confidence. “If we expect people to trust and invest in our economy, we must keep our promises. That action contributed in no small way to the rise in our reserves,” he added.
Cardoso outlined reforms aimed at strengthening confidence in the apex bank, including open Q&A sessions after every Monetary Policy Committee meeting, publication of audited financial statements, and disclosure of Nigeria’s net reserves position — a move that reassured investors.
“Many doubted we would publish the net reserves figure. But we gave a date, we delivered, and that gave investors confidence,” he said.
He also noted that the adoption of a B-matching electronic trading system has made FX transactions more transparent. “The market has become more open, eliminating privileged access to FX,” he stated.
Cardoso said the CBN is committed to ensuring that Nigerians can conduct business without undue influence, citing improvements in cross-border card usage as a result of policy reforms.
He added that the CBN board has adopted digitisation and artificial intelligence in its operations, with plans to collaborate with the Securities and Exchange Commission on digital currency development.
“Two years of consistent messaging, consistent policies, and uncompromising execution have taken us to a good place. The future of Nigeria is bright,” he said.
