The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has declared that the country’s foreign-exchange (FX) reserves have risen to over US$46 billion.
Speaking at the opening of a colloquium to mark the 20th anniversary of the CBN’s Monetary Policy Department, Cardoso, represented by Deputy Governor Muhammad Abdullahi (Economic Policy Directorate), said the reserves level was the highest the country has recorded since 2018.
He added that this amount could now cover more than 10 months of import needs, bolstering Nigeria’s buffer against external shocks.
Cardoso also indicated that borrowing costs may ease soon, as inflation continues to moderate.
“As inflation continues to ease,” he said, “lending rates may fall in the coming months,” which could help improve credit access and attract further investment into the economy.
According to the CBN’s own data, this reserve milestone was reached on 14 November.
However, this announcement contrasts with some recent publicly available figures.
In its September 2025 Monetary Policy Committee communiqué, the CBN reported gross external reserves of US$43.05 billion as of September 11, sufficient to cover approximately 8.28 months of imports.
Earlier, in July 2025, Cardoso stated that reserves stood at US$40.11 billion, representing approximately 9.5 months of import coverage.
Meanwhile, in April 2025, the bank disclosed that its Net Foreign Exchange Reserves (NFER), which account for near-term liabilities such as swaps and forwards, had surged to US$23.11 billion, the highest in over three years.
According to the bank, the improvement is attributable to deliberate policy measures, including the reduction of short-term FX liabilities and strengthening non-oil inflows.
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