Nigeria’s diaspora remittance inflows are on course to hit $1 billion every month by the end of 2026, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intensifies reforms aimed at attracting more foreign exchange through official channels.
Olayemi Cardoso, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, said this in a fireside chat moderated by Frank Aigbogun, publisher and chief executive officer of BusinessDay Media Limited, during the BusinessDay CEO Forum 2026.
Cardoso said the apex bank’s reforms have already doubled remittance inflows from their previous levels and are expected to become an increasingly important source of foreign exchange for the country.
“We gave ourselves a goal that we would double the remittance inflows between the time we started and the end of the year, and we did exactly that,” Cardoso said.
“We’re not relenting on that. We’re continuing on that trajectory. As at the last time, it was over $600 million, and we’re expecting that by the end of the year it will hit about $1 billion a month from diaspora remittances.”
