External Reserves Hit $46.7bn, Highest Since 2018 — Central Bank

Nigeria’s foreign reserves have risen to $46.7 billion as of November 2025, marking the country’s strongest external buffers in nearly eight years, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Olayemi Cardoso, has disclosed.

Cardoso, represented by the deputy governor in charge of Economic Policy, Dr Mohammed Sani Abdullahi, made the announcement on Tuesday at the 20th anniversary colloquium of the CBN’s Monetary Policy Department (MPD) in Abuja.

The event had the theme, “Monetary Policy in Nigeria: Past, Present and Future.”
According to him, the current reserve level provides 10.3 months of import cover for goods and services, reflecting strengthened market confidence and the impact of ongoing macroeconomic reforms.

“Foreign reserves have risen to $46.7 billion as of November 2025. This… is the highest amount that we have achieved since 2018,” he said.

This is as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Resident Representative in Nigeria, Dr Christian Ebeke, has urged stronger coordination between monetary and fiscal authorities to consolidate the country’s recent economic progress.

Speaking at the event, Ebeke said Nigeria’s sharp turnaround — from a period marked by high inflation, a wide FX premium and depleted reserves — demonstrates that recent reforms are working, but warned that sustaining these gains requires unified policy actions across government.

The IMF representative noted that while the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has restored credibility and market trust through reforms that strengthened the foreign exchange market and slowed inflation to 16 per cent, fiscal alignment is now critical.

Ebeke specifically called for better synchronisation of fiscal policies at both the federal and sub-national levels, stressing that inconsistent tax, spending and borrowing decisions across tiers of government can undermine the CBN’s efforts.

According to Ebeke, it is not the central bank’s responsibility to coordinate these fiscal reforms; rather, the fiscal authorities must take ownership to ensure policy coherence nationwide.

He said aligning fiscal rules, improving budget discipline and strengthening intergovernmental coordination would help minimise policy contradictions that fuel inflationary pressures.

Cardoso attributed the improved reserve position to sustained inflows and renewed investor participation, noting that reforms across both the monetary and fiscal sides of the economy are restoring stability after years of volatility.

He said clearer policy direction, improved foreign exchange management and strengthened coordination between the CBN and the federal government have contributed to easing pressure on the naira and stimulating capital inflows.

The governor also used the occasion to highlight Nigeria’s recent progress in stabilising inflation and rebuilding credibility in monetary policy.

Over the past year, the CBN has tightened policy and moved towards a more transparent, rule-based framework, including efforts to entrench inflation targeting as a medium-term anchor for price stability.

These reforms, he noted, have helped moderate inflation from last year’s peak and narrow the gap between official and parallel market exchange rates, which has further encouraged investor confidence.

Cardoso said the MPD’s two-decade journey reflects Nigeria’s broader evolution in monetary management, from early tools such as the Minimum Rediscount Rate to the adoption of the Monetary Policy Rate, the interest rate corridor and strengthened communication strategies designed to improve market expectations.

He assured that the Bank would continue to prioritise stability and deepen reforms to sustain investor trust and support long-term economic recovery.

Looking to the future, Ebeke emphasised that Nigeria’s plan to transition fully to an inflation-targeting regime will require the CBN to continue improving monetary transmission channels.

He said stronger exchange rate and interest rate channels, alongside a more effective signalling channel, would determine how well monetary policy influences prices going forward.

He added that inflation targeting alone is insufficient unless supported by credible policy tools and disciplined fiscal management, noting that durable price stability can only be achieved when monetary and fiscal authorities move in the same direction.

The Director of the Monetary Policy Department, Dr Victor Ugbem Oboh, said the CBN has made significant progress in its phased transition towards a full inflation-targeting regime, building on years of reforms that shifted the Bank from exchange-rate targeting to monetary targeting and now to a hybrid system that incorporates elements of inflation targeting.

He explained that following the Bank’s strategic announcement in late 2023, the department intensified evidence-based research, strengthened policy communication and supported a disciplined monetary policy stance aimed at anchoring expectations.

These efforts, he noted, have played a central role in the recent moderation of inflation, greater foreign exchange stability, narrowing of exchange-rate gaps and the rise in external reserves.

Oboh said the CBN is now at an advanced stage of operationalising the inflation-targeting framework, integrating it into Nigeria’s broader monetary architecture to lay the foundation for a credible, forward-looking regime that prioritises price stability.

According to him, the Monetary Policy Department remains committed to advancing transparency, improving analytical capacity and strengthening communication as the CBN works to restore durable stability and build investor confidence.

He stressed that the future of monetary policy will demand agility, innovation and strong coordination as global economic fragmentation, digital currency developments and climate-related financial risks evolve, noting that the department is prepared to remain data-driven and forward-looking in meeting these challenges.