Despite CBN N5 promo, money sent home by Nigerians abroad drops 75.3% in first quarter

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that total direct remittances to Nigeria in the first three months of 2021 dropped by 75.3 percent.

According to CBN, Nigerians sent home $865.4 million as against $35.9 billion reported in the corresponding period of 2020.

Although, January remittance is 65.3 percent higher than $523.5 million recorded between October and December 2020.

Data sourced from the CBN website by Ripples Nigeria on Friday, shows that in January 2021, $185.2 million was sent home, compared to $2.4 billion in the same month in 2020.

Although, the money sent home increased in February to $452.9 million, when compared to $1.15 billion in February 2020 it is a far cry.

Surprisingly, in March when CBN introduced the Naira 4 Dollar promo to boost dollar inflow into the country, direct remittance fell to $227.2 million from the previous month and also 48.9 percent lower to the $444.7 million recorded in the same month last year.

Read also: Youth Party condemns CBN’s funding of bloated govt, urges urgent steps to reset economy

You will recall that CBN promised N5 extra for every dollar received from March 8 and May 8 through licensed International Money Transfer Operators and commercial banks.

It is important to note that Diaspora remittance remains a very important source to increase Nigeria dollar reserves.

While Ripples Nigeria cannot independently confirm if the drop after the promo was a sign of lack of trust, the widening gap between the official and unofficial rate could provide a clue.

As of April 22, the difference between the CBN rate of 381 and the parallel market of 485 stands is N104.

What this means is that while $100 can give you N38,100 from CBN with an additional N100, at the black market the $100 will amount to N48,500.

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