Nigeria’s diaspora remittance inflows weakened in the first quarter of 2026, falling to US$5.30 billion from US$5.72 billion in the previous quarter, as foreign exchange leakages continued to limit the amount of funds captured through official channels, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s latest Balance of Payments report.
The decline highlights ongoing challenges in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market, where the central bank said leakages have disrupted formal remittance channels and encouraged more transfers outside regulated routes.
Remittances remain a major source of foreign currency for Africa’s largest economy, providing crucial dollar liquidity alongside oil earnings and foreign investment inflows.
The CBN said the decline in personal transfers, combined with rising service-related outflows, could weaken some of the recent gains recorded in Nigeria’s external position.
Despite the drop in remittances, Nigeria’s external sector recorded significant improvement in the first quarter, driven largely by stronger crude oil exports and lower petroleum product imports.
The country’s current account surplus expanded by 255.7 percent quarter-on-quarter to $4.98 billion in Q1 2026, compared with $1.40 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Oil exports increased to US$8.11 billion from US$6.77 billion, while natural gas exports rose to $2.53 billion from $2.24 billion. Refined petroleum product exports also grew to US$2.37 billion from US$1.97 billion.
At the same time, refined petroleum imports dropped sharply by 87.5 percent to $310 million, reflecting improved domestic refining capacity and reduced demand for foreign exchange to finance fuel purchases abroad.
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The improvement helped widen Nigeria’s goods account surplus to $5.95 billion from $1.77 billion in the previous quarter.
Total exports increased to US$15.49 billion from US$13.36 billion, while imports declined to US$9.54 billion from $11.59 billion, supported by lower fuel and non-oil imports.
However, Nigeria continued to record pressure from service payments abroad, with net service outflows widening to US$3.71 billion due to increased spending on travel and business services.
The stronger external position also boosted Nigeria’s foreign reserves, which rose to US$48.35 billion in Q1 from US$45.75 billion at the end of 2025.
The CBN said the higher reserves strengthen its ability to manage exchange rate volatility, meet international obligations and support investor confidence as authorities work to stabilize the economy.
