Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of
the economy, says Nigeria’s foreign reserves recorded a net inflow of $2.35
billion in the first seven months of the year.
Edun spoke on Thursday at the Access Bank corporate forum in
Lagos.
The minister said the stability of the naira in the foreign
exchange (FX) market led to the increase in foreign reserves.
He also said access to foreign exchange has improved.
“We have relative currency stability. And of course, the all
important margin of the rates. We’ve seen a gradual elimination of multiple
exchange rates,” Edun said.
“We also have foreign exchange liquidity. The gross reserves
are up. There has been a net inflow in the first seven months of this year of
about $2.35 billion every month.
“On the fiscal side as well, government revenues are growing
and the key to government revenue is not so much that the government has
revenue to compete with the private sector.”
Edun, however, said Nigeria’s tax to gross domestic product
(GDP) ratio is as low as 10 percent, that revenue to GDP is also around 15
percent.
As at September 12, Nigeria’s external reserves stood at
$36.08 billion, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The CBN had, on September 17, said the country’s foreign
exchange reserves are at risk due to the petrol subsidy removal and lower crude
oil earnings.
The apex bank also said increased external debt servicing
obligations could pose risks for the growth of external reserves.
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