CBN Targets $1bn Monthly Diaspora Remittances Next Year

Nigeria is edging person to a historical milestone successful overseas inflows, with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) projecting that diaspora remittances volition deed $1 cardinal monthly by 2026.

The CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, reaffirmed this astatine the 18th Annual Banking and Finance Conference of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) successful Abuja connected Tuesday.

According to him, the slope has taken deliberate steps to physique assurance among Nigerians abroad, including moving with starring commercialized banks specified arsenic Access Bank and Zenith Bank connected planetary outreach.

“By adjacent year, our projection volition beryllium a cardinal dollars a period of diaspora remittances. As acold arsenic we are concerned, we person done everything to alteration that to happen,” Cardoso said. He noted that monthly remittance inflows, which stood astatine $250 cardinal astatine the commencement of the reforms, had risen to $600 cardinal aft surpassing the $500 cardinal people earlier successful the year.

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has directed fiscal and superior marketplace regulators to fortify oversight connected Nigeria’s increasing usage of stablecoins and integer currencies. The President, represented by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, cautioned that the planetary fiscal strategy is experiencing accelerated transformation, with much radical moving distant from accepted banking channels.

“There is simply a integer revolution. Many radical present are not utilizing the banking strategy to marque payments. They’ve turned to stablecoins. They’ve turned to integer currency,” Tinubu said. “I person directed superior marketplace authorities and banking authorities to get clasp of this communicative and way it whilst it is inactive evolving.”

He stressed that Nigeria indispensable displacement its system from specified resilience to reinvention, with integer tools, artificial quality (AI), and unfastened banking positioned arsenic catalysts for industrialisation, efficiency, and employment generation.

“Yes, our GDP is growing, but the percent of concern publication from manufacturing is not wherever it should beryllium to make the jobs we need. The innovation is determination for adopting digital, AI, and unfastened banking to heighten efficiency,” helium stated.
Tinubu besides pointed to caller fiscal reforms, peculiarly caller taxation laws aimed astatine creating a fairer and much transparent system. He disclosed that the linkage of authorities accounts with the CBN since August 1 had provided afloat visibility connected authorities finances, improving transparency and boosting gross collection.

“That linkage with the Central Bank, the gross optimisation team, present gives america afloat visibility connected authorities finances, and that volition output dividends. It volition pb to accrued authorities revenues,” helium said.
On fiscal inclusion, the President emphasised that expanding entree to affordable services indispensable construe into occupation creation, particularly for young Nigerians. “Inclusion truly means jobs, prime jobs, charismatic jobs, peculiarly for our young men and women,” Tinubu said, reaffirming his administration’s committedness to stabilising the economy, reducing poverty, and attracting backstage investment.

In his invited address, CIBN president and president of the Council, Prof. Pius Deji Olanrewaju, applauded the fiscal sector’s resilience. He highlighted that 16 listed banks had raised much than N2.5 trillion successful caller superior since 2024 to fortify their equilibrium sheets. Net home recognition to the backstage assemblage has grown to implicit ₦82 trillion, supporting businesses and occupation creation.

He further noted advancement successful non-oil exports, with Nigeria’s merchandise handbasket expanding to 236 items successful the archetypal fractional of 2025, up from 202 successful the aforesaid play past year, generating $3.23 cardinal successful gross — a 19.6 per cent increase.

Prof. Olanrewaju besides welcomed the consolidation of implicit 100 tax-collecting agencies into a azygous Nigeria Revenue Service nether the taxation reforms signed by Tinubu connected June 26, which volition instrumentality effect successful January 2026. “These caller laws portend a caller lease of life, with a batch of opportunities inherent successful it for each and sundry,” helium said.

The conference, which convened players from banking, finance, and technology, explored however Nigeria tin harness integer innovation, argumentation reforms, and backstage superior to present inclusive maturation and semipermanent economical transformation.