Gabriel Akinadewo looks at how Nigeria is bolstering its external reserves and its diversification strategy.
A look at every speech made by Olayemi Cardoso as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will reveal something simple yet significant: a large majority contain the words "buffers" and "resilience".
These keywords are important in understanding his overall reform agenda, which is anchored on price stability and long-term sustainable growth.
Stability and growth are becoming more evident across several areas of the economy and on February 24, 2026 Cardoso said that external buffers are beginning to build the resilience he often talks about.
Nigeria's gross external reserves, he said, rose to $50.45bn as of February 16, 2026, from $33.22bn at the end of 2023. While gross reserves represent the total foreign assets by the CBN without accounting for liabilities, the net reserves on the other hand are the remaining funds after considering short term foreign currency obligations inclusing loans and hedging obligations. Net external reserves stood at $34.8bn by the end of 2025, providing an import cover of 9.68 months for goods and services. That represents an increase from $3.99bn at the end of 2023.
The governor noted that the expansion underscored Nigeria's enhanced capacity to meet external obligations and support exchange rate stability. He also noted that improved transparency and credibility in foreign exchange management have boosted investor confidence and attracted stronger FX inflows thus validating the bank's ongoing policy reforms and external sector adjustments.
Diversifying external reserves
To hedge against currency fluctuations and ensure that the buffer provided by external reserves is not eroded, the CBN announced that it has taken delivery of responsibly sourced gold refined to London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) good delivery standards into its foreign reserves.
This move, which marks a significant step in its reserve diversification strategy, brings the CBN's total gold holdings to $3.5bn.
The gold, sourced in Nigeria from local miners operating within a responsible sourcing framework aligned with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development due diligence guidelines and the World Gold Council's London Principles was aggregated by the Solid Minerals Development Fund through the National Gold Purchase Programme.
Speaking at a recent workshop on strategies to maximise the economic benefits of minerals in Nigeria, Cardoso said that the CBN acquired the monetary-grade gold in naira at pricing linked to LBMA benchmarks, a structure designed to preserve Nigeria's foreign exchange holdings while strengthening the nation's gold reserves. By buying in naira, the transaction does not impact the country's reserve accretion negatively while supporting the broader macroeconomic stability objectives.
This special report was produced with the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria. The editorial was produced independently of the CBN or the government.