COVID-19 Plunged Nigeria’s Foreign Remittance Inflows to $3.3 Billion in Q2 2020

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria has shown that Nigeria’s remittance inflows hit the lowest since 2008 in the second quarter of the year as COVID-19 weighed on the income of Nigerians living abroad.

Nigerians in diaspora remitted $3.3 billion in the second quarter, down from the average of $5.8 billion per quarter normally remitted to the country.

Global lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the income of many people in developed economies and this includes Nigerians in diaspora looking to remit money home for projects and families.

The report highlighted the likely struggle the new diaspora remittance policy of the apex bank may face in regards to forex scarcity.

Read – Despite New CBN Forex Policy, Naira Plunges Back to Record Low Against Global Counterparts(Opens in a new browser tab)

It should be recalled that the apex bank adjusted its remittance inflow policy to allow recipients to receive foreign remittance in foreign currency (US Dollar) in an effort to deepen forex liquidity and checkmate the activity of speculators and hoarders at the parallel market, popularly known as the Black Market.

Read – Polaris Bank Starts Paying Dollars to Recipients of Foreign Inflows

The apex bank had announced it was expecting $2 billion monthly or $24 billion annual remittance inflow to stimulate economic productivity and fast track recovery from the current economic recession.

However, with remittance hitting a record low of $3.3 billion in three months, the average monthly remittance is at about $1.1 billion. That is below $1.8 billion to $2 billion expected per month by the Central Bank of Nigeria to consistently prop up the value of the Nigerian Naira.

Read  – Nigeria’s Annual Remittance Inflow Estimated at $24 Billion -CBN