Cardoso at three: Reserves hit $54bn, naira back to N1,326/$

Nigeria's external reserves have climbed above $54 billion, the strongest level in more than 18 years, and the naira has firmed to around N1,326 per dollar in the official market. The numbers mark the clearest result yet of three years of foreign exchange and monetary policy reforms under Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Olayemi Cardoso.

Cardoso was nominated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on September 15, 2023, and took office later that month, inheriting an economy weighed down by high inflation, severe FX distortions and a wide gap between the official and parallel market rates.

From multiple rates to one market

One of his earliest and most consequential moves was the unification of the foreign exchange market. The CBN abolished the segmentation of rates and moved transactions into a single framework based on willing-buyer, willing-seller principles, now operating through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).

The immediate cost was heavy. The naira fell to as low as N1,750 per dollar in the official market and N1,900 in the parallel market. Imported goods grew more expensive, production costs rose and inflation intensified.

The CBN argued that letting the official rate reflect market conditions was necessary to kill arbitrage, improve transparency and attract foreign capital. The Bank also cleared verified outstanding FX obligations estimated at about $7 billion, a step it said was needed to restore credibility with foreign investors and businesses. The International Monetary Fund has since acknowledged that Nigeria's exchange-rate liberalisation, alongside tighter monetary and fiscal policy, helped improve FX-market functioning and rebuild external buffers.

Reserves climb past target

The reserve build-up tells the story. CBN data showed reserves rising from $33.6 billion in October 2023 to $37.9 billion by July 2024, after the reforms and the backlog clearance. The IMF put reserves at $46 billion at the end of 2025, up from $40 billion at the end of 2024. By September 2026, gross reserves had crossed $54 billion.

Recent CBN figures put reserves at about $54.08 billion in early September, with another update citing $54.41 billion. That is Nigeria's strongest position in 18 years. The CBN's 2026 reserve target was $51.04 billion, so the current level is already above projection.

The build-up is not down to one intervention. Stronger oil-related receipts, improved FX inflows, portfolio investment, remittances and other capital inflows all contributed. The IMF noted Nigeria recorded a current-account surplus of 4.8 percent of GDP in 2025, and identified non-resident purchases of CBN open-market operations and a $2.3 billion Eurobond issuance as supporting factors.

The naira turns

After the reforms triggered sharp depreciation, the currency spent much of the following period under pressure. Improved dollar liquidity, stronger reserves and rising inflows have gradually changed the direction. By September 2026, the naira had returned to the N1,300 range in the official market, quoted around N1,326 per dollar on Monday, September 14, 2026.

Cardoso has said capital and investment inflows rose significantly between 2023 and 2025, while the premium between the official and parallel markets fell sharply from pre-reform extremes. The CBN's focus has shifted from defending a particular exchange-rate level to improving how the market functions.

For Nigerian businesses and consumers, stronger reserves mean a bigger buffer against external shocks and more confidence that dollars are available for imports and obligations. That matters directly for import costs, which feed into prices.