Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says the country’s foreign exchange market now records an average daily turnover of $500 million, often without any intervention from the apex bank.
Cardoso made the comment during a press briefing held after the 303rd meeting of the CBN monetary policy committee (MPC) in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said Nigeria is currently running a system driven by “willing buyers and willing sellers,” adding that the structure provides transparency by enabling all participants to identify who is buying or selling at any given moment.
Cardoso described the development as unprecedented, noting that “what we have in the foreign exchange market in Nigeria today is something that has not happened before.”
He said the market now functions with openness and autonomy, allowing participants to “buy at will” and “sell at will” under a transparent framework.
The CBN governor explained that the electronic foreign exchange matching system (EFEMS) introduced by the bank has helped restore confidence, leading to increased activity and market stability.
According to him, the mechanism has made it possible for the market to record about half a billion dollars in daily transactions, many times without the CBN participating directly.
He noted that unlike previous years when activity stalled without CBN intervention, the current system has eliminated that dependency and now runs on established rules accepted by all participants.
Cardoso said the reforms have contributed to sustained stability in the FX market’s operations.
The CBN governor also stated that FX rate gaps, which were previously as wide as 60 percent, have narrowed to about 2 percent due to increased transparency.
He said the framework now provides equal access to all participants, making the market more disciplined and reducing the impact of policy inconsistency or “flip-flops” that had disrupted operations in the past.
Cardoso added that the ongoing reforms have made Nigeria’s FX market “more functional” and boosted confidence among stakeholders.
