Market News
‘How FX reforms, higher oil receipts, stronger remittances stabilised naira’ - THE GUARDIAN
By : Joseph Chibueze, Abuja
The Budget Office of the Federation (BOF) has attributed the stability in the value of the naira to the foreign exchange reforms of the current administration, improvement in crude oil prices and rising diaspora remittance inflows.
The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, disclosed this over the weekend in a statement.
He recalled that when the administration scrapped the country’s multiple exchange windows in 2024, the naira fell sharply, sparking fears of the possibility of a total collapse of the economy.
According to him, the currency plunged to N1,800 per dollar in March 2024, with critics describing it as a “worthless Naira”.
However, he said, what looked like a collapse was in fact a reset.
“It was a deliberate recalibration of our foreign exchange market,” Yakubu said.
He said by August 2025, the naira had recovered to N1,525 per dollar, attributing the rebound to higher oil receipts, strong diaspora remittances and the clearance of FX backlogs.
Yakubu noted that the unification of the FX rates was key, creating a single transparent rate and restoring investor confidence.
He explained that the impact was most visible in the export sector, where Nigerian goods suddenly became more affordable abroad.
“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,” he said.
Data 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.
He described the development as a “sweet spot” for the economy, with exporters earning more in Naira terms, buyers abroad paying less in dollar terms and the economy benefiting from stronger inflows.
He explained that “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.
