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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed that its foreign exchange reserves stood at $40.2 as of the end of last week.
CBN Vice President for Economic Policy Muhammad Sani Abdullahi made this disclosure while speaking to potential investors on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Ta.
The Vice Governor also disclosed that the CBN is targeting monthly inflows of $1 billion as its policies take hold.
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Abdullahi said: “In terms of external reserves, we have seen a significant increase over the past few months. As of Friday, our external reserves amounted to $40.2 billion, compared to a year ago when they were less than $34 billion. It has increased significantly.
“We have built a buffer so that if we need time and need a buffer, we can cover at least 14.3 months on imports of goods and services and 15 months on goods alone.
“There is a lot of work going on right now in terms of making sure that we sort out the export process from farm to port and making sure that we remove all the bottlenecks that are holding back the economy.
In 2019, Nigeria’s regular exports were $10.4 billion. Last year, it fell to just over $3 billion. We’re now back on track to first aim for the same $10.4 in the short term and then build on that. ”
He said the central bank is also focusing on discrete remittances.
“As of last year, our monthly high was $350 million, and now we’re doing $600 million a month for the diaspora, with a goal of $1 billion in the short to medium term. , we believe this will grow significantly to clear dollar demand in the domestic market. ”
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, said: “We are determined to maintain market prices at petrol pumps. This means that 5% of the wasted, inefficient and expensive GDP that was flowing out of Nigeria will now be available for the development and mobilization of the Nigerian economy.”
Regarding the benefits of subsidy abolition, the minister said: “The reality is that on May 29, 2023, the subsidy will be abolished and will not be on the government’s balance sheet, but the subsidy reared its head, not from an economic point of view.” rather than foreign exchange subsidies, which are clearly primarily generated by the NNPC. And what I can say about their own situation is that they are in the situation they are in right now, and I am confident that they have a path to repaying the amount owed and will begin repaying it soon. From what I understand, they have also started the payment process. ”
Regarding the IMF’s influence on the administration’s economic policy prescriptions, Mr. Edun said: “In terms of dialogue with the IMF, we are a member country. We are members of the World Bank Board of Directors, and the IMF is part of the Brightonwood Group. So we have a natural obligation. Yes, we have a governance role to play.
“There is value in the thought leadership, technical assistance, advice, information and data that these institutions can provide. You don’t necessarily have to take the advice. Domestic dollar issues are being told we shouldn’t do it, and we are oversubscribing by 100%. However, we still value their perspective.”
