The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it has cleared all valid foreign exchange backlogs.
This breakthrough was disclosed by the Bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Hakama Sidi Ali, in Abuja, on Wednesday night.
Sidi Ali noted that the CBN recently concluded the payment of $1.5 billion to settle obligations to bank customers, effectively settling the residual balance of the FX backlog.
She also disclosed that independent auditors from Deloitte Consulting meticulously assessed these transactions, ensuring that only legitimate claims were honoured.
She said it was in, “fulfilling a key pledge of the CBN Governor, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, to process an inherited backlog of US$7 billion in claims.”
The CBN has also reported a significant increase in external reserves, rising by $993 million to $34.11 billion as of March 7, 2024, the highest level in eight months.
The month-on-month increase was driven by a marked advance in remittance payments by Nigerians overseas, as well as higher purchases of local assets, including government debt securities, by foreign investors.
