CBN: From January to April 2023, the FG spent $894 million to service foreign debts.
According to data supplied by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the federal government spent $894 million servicing foreign debt obligations from January to April 2023. The federal government spent $112.35 million in January 2023, $288.5 million in February, $400.5 million in March, and $92.8 million in April, according to export and international payment figures provided over the weekend.
The report also revealed that total direct remittances for the first four months of 2023 totaled $451.61 million. However, the World Bank reported that money sent home by Nigerians living abroad is anticipated to reach $20.9 billion in 2022, with analysts noting the ‘Naira-4-dollar’ scheme and talent exodus as important drivers.
According to the World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief report, remittance flow to Nigeria grew by an estimated 8.85 per cent in 2022 from $19.2 billion in 2021.Africa’s biggest economy saw its diaspora remittances plunge to $17.2 billion in 2020 amid the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic from $25.3 billion in the previous year.
The World Bank said remittances flow to sub-Saharan Africa grew an estimated 5.2 percent to $53 billion in 2022, with Nigeria being the largest recipient.