The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, has credited Nigeria’s recent currency rebound to higher oil receipts, strong diaspora remittances, and the clearance of foreign exchange backlogs.
In March 2024, the CBN announced the complete clearance of the valid foreign exchange backlog amounting to $1.5 billion.
Yakubu, in a statement released on Saturday, said President Bola Tinubu’s foreign exchange reforms have repositioned the Naira as a tool of competitiveness rather than weakness.
Scrapping Multiple Exchange Windows
He recalled that when the administration scrapped multiple exchange windows in 2024, the Naira initially depreciated sharply, sparking widespread fears of economic collapse.
The currency fell to as low as N1,800 per dollar in March 2024, prompting critics to dismiss it as a “worthless Naira.”
“However, what looked like a collapse was in fact a reset. It was a deliberate recalibration of our foreign exchange market,” Yakubu explained.
By August 2025, the Naira had recovered to N1,525 per dollar, representing a 15.28% gain in just five months.
Yakubu said this turnaround was made possible by three key factors: rising oil receipts, strong inflows from diaspora remittances, and the clearance of over N4 billion in outstanding FX backlogs.
He added that the unification of the FX market, which created a single transparent rate, restored investor confidence and improved trade flows.
According to him, the impact was particularly visible in Nigeria’s export sector, where local products became more competitive in global markets.
“With a realistic exchange rate, our cocoa, sesame, and even processed chocolate became cheaper in New York, Mumbai, or São Paulo, without local producers earning less,” Yakubu said.
Data from the Budget Office revealed that non-oil exports climbed from $2.696 billion in the first half of 2024 to $3.225 billion in the same period of 2025.
Export volumes also increased, from 3.83 million metric tonnes to 4.04 million metric tonnes, showing that foreign buyers were purchasing more goods, not just paying higher prices.
Yakubu described this as a “sweet spot” for the economy, noting that exporters earned more in Naira terms, foreign buyers paid less in dollar terms, and the economy gained from stronger inflows.
“This is a virtuous cycle. FX reform leads to a realistic Naira, which makes our goods competitive. That drives exports, and the resulting inflows strengthen the Naira further,” he explained.
“This is a virtuous cycle. FX reform leads to a realistic Naira, which makes our goods competitive. That drives exports, and the resulting inflows strengthen the Naira further,” he explained.
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead, the DG stressed that the reforms have turned the Naira into a growth driver, boosting trade and attracting new investment.
“If Nigeria stays the course, the story of the Naira will not be about collapse and recovery but about reinvention—an economy using its currency as an engine of global competitiveness,” Yakubu added.
What You Should Know
In February 2024, CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso, disclosed that about $2.4 billion foreign exchange backlog was not valid for settlement.
Cardoso clarified that out of the initially reported $7 billion FX liabilities of the federal government, about $2.4 billion were identified as invalid following a forensic audit by Deloitte Management Consultant.