February 10, 2022

Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele has disclosed a jump in Diaspora remittances from US$6 million per week in December 2020 to an average of over US$100 million per week by January 2022.

Emefiele attributed this to CBN policies and measures that have helped to free up the international banking space from needless encumbrances.

Speaking at the end of the Banker’s Committee meeting in Abuja on Thursday, Emefiele said Covid-19 pandemic also impacted negatively on remittances.

According to him, diaspora remittances had fallen significantly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This is understandable because to the extent that COVID-19 led to significant job losses in many advanced economies, diaspora remittances also suffered commensurate reductions in inflows into Nigeria.

“All these factors jointly explain the heightened pressures on the currencies of major emerging market countries, including Nigeria,” he explained.

Emefiele said the boost in Diaspora remittances was a consequence of CBN policies such as the N1 trillion loans to boost local manufacturing and production across critical sectors and the reduction of the interest rate on CBN intervention loans from 9 to 5 percent.

Nigeria is among the top countries in the world with hefty Diaspora remittances year-on-year.