New CBN Governor Cardoso details gains of subsidy removal

The new governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, revealed on Monday, October 23, 2023, that the subsidy removal has ended the economic bleeding in the country.

Cardoso stated this at the NESG conference in Abuja on Monday, October 2023, stating that Nigeria bled out its resources during the subsidy regime.

CBN assures no cause for alarm over currency crisis

The apex bank chief assured Nigerians that there is no reason for anxiety over the economy since what was responsible for the country's fiscal challenges has been removed.

He said that since the subsidy was removed, the country has seen a significant increase in revenue generation, saying that the country is now on the part of economic renewal. Cardoso said the time to be worried about the economy was during the subsidy regime.

Cardoso said: "If the fiscal is bleeding, it financially makes life difficult for us. To the extent that that has stopped, it is a big deal. It isn't anything for anybody to take lightly."

According to the CBN helmsman, there will no longer be policy somersault with the apex bank and the Forex market, stating that the market will be more predictable and transparent and give a fair playing ground for investors. He stated that lack of transparency has eroded investors' trust in the Forex market.

He said: "The attempt at unifying the foreign exchange market could be better; at least substantially more revenue has come in.

"If we're going to create an ecosystem that will survive us all, we've got to do some basic things, some of which we are already attempting to do. For example, we need to have a situation where the rules are clear to all that engage in that business, and we will come with that."

New rule books for Forex are coming soon

Reports say that Cardoso said Nigeria is seeing a surge in foreign portfolio investment since the FX reforms, stressing that confidence has been restored in the Nigerian market.

The bank will publish a detailed policy document on the FX market operation rules per Cardoso in the coming weeks.

His remarks come amid a promise by the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, that Nigeria expects $10 billion in Forex inflows to stabilize the naira.

FG to pump $10 billion into the economy to strengthen the naira

The Minister revealed that President Bola Tinubu, on Thursday, October 20, 2023, signed two executive orders to support the local currency market, which has crashed to its lowest in history since he became President on May 29, 2023.

Edun said the government would allow domestic issuance of instruments in foreign currency and let all cash outside the banking system be mopped up into the banks as measures to strengthen the naira.

Africa's largest economy is in the middle of a Forex crisis following the devaluation of its currency, which has seen it crash in the official and parallel markets.