The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that all valid foreign exchange backlogs totaling $7 billion have been settled, fulfilling a key promise made by its Governor, Mr. Olayemi Cardosoo.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, the Acting Director of Corporate Communications at the apex bank in Abuja, confirmed that independent auditors from Deloitte Consulting carefully reviewed these transactions to ensure that only legitimate claims were paid.
She also mentioned that the CBN recently completed a payment of $1.5 billion to fulfill obligations to bank customers, effectively clearing the remaining balance of the foreign exchange backlog.
At a recent meeting, Governor Cardoso declared: “We made clearing the FX backlog a priority to restore credibility and confidence in the Nigerian economy.
“It was important that we go through an independent and credible process that would determine the authenticity of those obligations, and, at this point, I can tell you that we have now cleared all genuine, verifiable transactions. This encumbrance to market confidence in the country’s ability to meet its obligations is now totally behind us,” he added.
Addressing the backlog of foreign exchange transactions is a key part of the strategy discussed in the recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting to stabilize the exchange rate and reduce imported inflation. This will help boost confidence in the banking system and the overall economy.
During the meeting, Cardoso outlined plans for increasing Nigeria’s foreign currency reserves and enhancing liquidity in the foreign exchange market to foreign portfolio investors. This is aimed at maintaining sustained growth.
Following this, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced a significant increase in external reserves, reaching $34.11 billion as of March 7, 2024, the highest level in eight months.
This increase was mainly due to higher remittance payments from Nigerians abroad and increased purchases of local assets, such as government debt securities, by foreign investors.
