FX reforms, oil inflows push Nigeria's external reserves above $54bn

Nigeria's gross external reserves stood at $54.61bn as of September 14, 2026, according to Central Bank of Nigeria data, up from $41.84bn a year earlier. That is a 30.5 per cent increase and about $20.8bn more than the $33.22bn recorded at the end of December 2023.

The rise has come under CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso, whose tenure has seen a broad overhaul of the foreign-exchange market, tighter monetary policy and the clearing of a large backlog of unpaid FX obligations. Oil earnings and other external flows have also played a major role.

What the reserves numbers show

Cardoso was appointed by President Bola Tinubu on September 15, 2023, assumed duty in acting capacity on September 22, 2023, and the CBN records his formal tenure as governor from October 5, 2023. At the end of September 2023, the CBN's Economic Report put external reserves at $32.79bn, enough to cover about 6.3 months of imports of goods and services.

The CBN draws a line between gross and net reserves. Gross reserves are the total foreign assets held by the central bank. Net reserves give a narrower picture after certain liabilities and obligations are accounted for.

Net reserves have also improved sharply. Cardoso said in February 2026 that net foreign-exchange reserves rose to $34.8bn at the end of 2025, from $3.99bn at the end of 2023. "When we started, the net exchange reserves figure was in the region of about $3bn-plus," he said at the BusinessDay CEO Forum in Lagos in July 2026.

The CBN's reforms alone did not create these dollars. Crude oil earnings, oil production levels, non-oil exports, diaspora remittances, foreign investment, external borrowing and government transactions all feed the reserves.

Reforms, and the pressure on the naira

When the new CBN leadership took over, the FX market ran on multiple exchange rates and many businesses could not get dollars through official channels. The bank moved towards a more market-driven system, saying the June 2023 willing-buyer, willing-seller policy helped collapse the separate FX windows into the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market. It also removed restrictions on access to foreign exchange for 43 previously restricted items, and changed rules affecting bureaux de change, remittances and trade transactions.

The changes put heavy pressure on the naira. As the CBN loosened its grip on the exchange rate, the currency fell sharply, making imports and foreign-currency obligations more expensive in naira terms. The bank's argument was that a market-reflective rate would be more transparent and pull more transactions into official channels.

Economist and public affairs analyst Aliyu Ilias said the reforms had produced frameworks aimed at long-standing macroeconomic and monetary problems. "I think Cardoso has tried because he has developed a lot of frameworks to address the macroeconomic and monetary problems. He has made changes to the bureaux de change system and to import-related policies and put a lot of things in place," he told The PUNCH. "On the issue of foreign reserves, I think it is a good thing that we have been able to move our reserves to a higher level. Now, they can serve as collateral to borrow money and get..."

IMF and World Bank verdict

The International Monetary Fund has broadly backed the reforms, including tighter monetary policy, a more flexible and unified FX market, reduced CBN financing of government deficits, stronger CBN governance and bank recapitalisation. It says these have improved macroeconomic stability, rebuilt reserves and strengthened the banking system. It wants the CBN to keep policy tight until inflation falls sustainably, improve policy communication, strengthen banking supervision and keep reducing exchange restrictions when conditions permit.

The World Bank has also welcomed the move towards a unified, market-reflective exchange rate and a monetary-policy framework focused on price stability. It says the reforms are beginning to improve Nigeria's fiscal position, reserves and economic resilience, but warns they have caused significant short-term pain through high inflation, higher living costs and weaker purchasing power.

For Nigerian businesses, a bigger dollar buffer gives the CBN more room to defend the naira and settle FX obligations. The import bill, however, remains the test, since the reserves are still measured against how many months of goods and services the country can pay for.