Economy
Nigeria’s Foreign Exchange Market Finds New Stability: Cardoso’s Reforms
Nigeria’s Foreign Exchange Market Finds New Stability: Cardoso’s Reforms
Nigeria’s foreign exchange market finds new stability: Cardoso’s reforms. Since assuming office, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Olayemi Cardoso has made significant strides in stabilising the foreign exchange market, rebuilding foreign reserves, and taming inflation— while restoring confidence in Nigeria’s monetary policy.
These developments mark a clear departure from the chaotic exchange rate environment that previously defined Nigeria’s financial sector.
Before Cardoso’s reforms, Nigeria operated a fragmented and opaque foreign exchange regime with multiple FX windows, ranging from the official I&E window to various interventions and retail channels.
This system allowed for wide discrepancies in pricing, often creating arbitrage opportunities for insiders while excluding legitimate businesses and ordinary Nigerians from fair access to dollars. Also,the gap between the official and parallel market rates frequently exceeded 60%, fueling black market speculation and discouraging foreign investment.
One central achievement of Cardoso’s leadership of the Central Bank has been the unification of the foreign exchange windows and the implementation of a transparent “willing buyer, willing seller” digital platform. This reform, which replaced the multiple FX windows, has allowed for efficient price discovery and market-led exchange rate determination.
As a result, the parallel market premium, which used to exceed 60%, has narrowed to as little as ₦1. The official exchange rate has stabilised at around ₦1,531/$1, nearly matching the rate in the parallel market. This significant compression has essentially eliminated arbitrage opportunities and is gradually rendering black-market currency trading obsolete.
Cardoso himself acknowledged the systemic instability he inherited and praised the CBN’s new trajectory, saying, “We inherited a crisis of confidence but chose a different path. We’re not turning back.” His remarks reflect a broader strategy aimed at removing opacity from the financial system, restoring trust, and encouraging formal sector engagement.
The FX market now operates with more transparency, and banks no longer redirect customers to street-level currency dealers—one of the most visible indicators of the system’s past dysfunction.
Equally notable is the progress in rebuilding Nigeria’s foreign reserves. With improved oil receipts, increased investor confidence, and a wave of foreign portfolio inflows, the country’s reserves have rebounded from below $35 billion to over $40 billion by mid-July 2025. In June alone, Nigeria saw foreign portfolio inflows exceed $2.7 billion, a 315% increase compared to April.
These flows have contributed to a healthier balance of payments position, provided roughly 9 to 10 months of import cover, and significantly reduced pressure on the Naira. According to Cardoso, these trends reflect Nigeria’s “shift from vulnerability toward strength,” signalling to investors that the country is regaining its financial footing.
Meanwhile, the inflation picture, although still challenging, shows signs of consistent improvement. Headline inflation has fallen from a high of 34–35% in late 2024 to 22.22% as of June 2025. This progress is the result of tighter monetary policy anchored by a steady Monetary Policy Rate of 27.5% and better FX market liquidity.
While food and core inflation remain elevated, Cardoso’s CBN has reiterated its commitment to price stability and medium-term inflation targeting. “Our focus must remain on price stability, the planned transition to an inflation-targeting framework, and strategies to restore purchasing power and ease economic hardship,” he stated recently.
Comparatively, the macroeconomic landscape has shifted significantly in less than a year. The exchange rate gap has virtually disappeared, reserves are growing, inflation is moderating, and investor confidence is returning.
Cardoso’s reforms mirror the kind of bold policy stance seen during President Bola Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidy, a decision that collapsed the black market for petrol overnight. Similarly, as market transparency and monetary discipline take root, the demand for informal FX services is drying up naturally.

CBN
There is however reason for cautious optimism. Cardoso has shown that consistent, data-driven, and transparent policy can reset Nigeria’s monetary framework. FX arbitrage is fading, banks are regaining credibility, and the country’s reserves now provide a buffer against future shocks.
If sustained, these reforms could anchor long-term macroeconomic stability and real-sector growth. The groundwork has been laid; the challenge now is continuity and political will.
In summary, Cardoso is winning the early rounds of Nigeria’s economic recalibration. He is not merely managing a crisis, he is engineering a recovery.
And as the gap between official policy and economic outcomes narrows, Nigerians may finally begin to feel the relief that only true macroeconomic stability can offer.
Oyalowo, a development economist, can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) @AyoOyalowo
Economy
Tinubu Government Unveils 100 Electric Buses for Civil Servants
Tinubu Government Unveils 100 Electric Buses for Civil Servants
The Federal Government has commissioned 100 electric buses under the Renewed Hope Mass Transit Programme to ease transportation challenges for federal civil servants and improve workers’ welfare.
Eereporter.com
The buses were launched on Wednesday at Eagle Square, Abuja, with the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, describing the initiative as a major milestone in efforts to improve the welfare of civil servants.
The first phase of the programme comprises 37 of the 100 buses approved under the Renewed Hope Mass Transit Programme, as reported by Vanguard.
Walson-Jack described the commissioning as her “parting gift” to federal civil servants, coming less than 24 hours before the end of her tenure as Head of the Civil Service.
“What we have here is 37 buses, being the first instalment of the 100 Electric Buses,” she said.
She said transportation had a significant impact on workers’ finances, safety, punctuality and productivity, adding that affordable and reliable transportation would help reduce the burden on civil servants.
“For many Civil Servants, the daily commute shapes their finances, their safety, their punctuality, and ultimately their productivity,” she said.
FG unveils 100 electric buses for civil servants
According to her, the intervention would enable workers to save money, reduce commuting risks and arrive at work with more energy to deliver quality public service.
“A Special Purpose Vehicle has been established to ensure their proper management, maintenance and long-term sustainability,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Owan Enoh, described the project as more than a transportation intervention, saying it combined workers’ welfare, productivity, industrialisation and technology.
He said each of the 100 electric buses could accommodate up to 200 passengers and travel a minimum of 200 kilometres on a full charge.
Also, Director General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council, Olu Osanipin, in a statement on his X handle, said the “first deployment marks the beginning of a phased rollout, with the full complement of 100 electric buses expected to be deployed by December 2026.”
FG unveils 100 electric buses for civil servants

Transportation
Enoh commended NADDC and other stakeholders involved in the project, urging local manufacturers to invest in factories, deepen local content and produce globally competitive products.
He said the Federal Government remained committed to ensuring that its economic reforms translated into industries, jobs, infrastructure and improved living standards for Nigerians.
Eereporter.com
Crime
Brazil Fines TikTok $30m Over Failure to Implement Child Safety
Brazil Fines TikTok $30m Over Failure to Implement Child Safety
Brazil’s data protection agency on Tuesday fined TikTok nearly $30 million for failing to implement child safety measures in what it said was a “powerful signal” to social media companies.
Eereporter.com
Brazil has taken a tough stance on the regulation of social media platforms, cracking down on disinformation and requiring users under 16 years to have their accounts linked to those of their parents.
An enforcement director with the ANPD data protection agency, Fabricio Lopes, told a press conference that TikTok “was not taking the necessary measures to prevent adolescents from accessing the platform and from having the data of these children and adolescents processed.”
This data was “being used to offer advertising to adolescents.”
He said the fine of 153.7m reais ($29.9 million) was a “powerful signal to other platforms regarding how seriously the ANPD takes this work” and that the agency hoped they “get the message.”
TikTok agreed last week to pay $400m to settle a lawsuit with the US Department of Justice over claims that the video-sharing platform collected children’s personal data without parental permission.
– Tougher enforcement –
This month, the ANPD also ordered popular streaming platform Discord to suspend livestreams and video calls after a teenage girl was allegedly encouraged to take her own life during a broadcast.
The agency told AFP that an appeal filed by Discord on Monday against the suspension is under review.
ANPD director Lorena Coutinho said the agency had, last week, initiated proceedings to verify the compliance of 22 social media networks and platforms with a law passed this year to protect children and teens online.
In addition to the fine, the ANPD ordered TikTok parent company ByteDance to delete data collected in violation of regulations.
Coutinho said TikTok had committed to suspend all adverts for users who are not logged in.
TikTok has committed to “implementing a compliance plan to improve the protection of children and adolescents,” the ANPD said.

Brazil Fines TikTok
The platform will be required to automatically apply stricter privacy settings to accounts belonging to children under the age of 16, strengthen parental supervision systems, and implement stricter content filters.
TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment from AFP.
In 2024, the platform X was blocked for 40 days in Brazil, until the social media network owned by the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, complied with the Supreme Court’s orders to remove accounts spreading disinformation.
Eereporter.com
Economy
Umahi Leads the Way as Tinubu Orders Immediate Action on Benin-Agbor-Asaba Road Intervention
Umahi Leads the Way as Tinubu Orders Immediate Action on Benin-Agbor-Asaba Road Intervention
The Minister of Works, Senator Engr. David Umahi, CON, has moved swiftly to address the worsening condition of the Ifaki-Kabba-Ado Ekiti road in Ekiti and Kogi States, and Benin-Agbor-Asaba Roads following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive for urgent intervention to ease the hardship being faced by motorists and commuters.
Eereporter.com
Umahi, who expressed deep concern over the deplorable condition of the road and the suffering of road users who have spent hours and, in some cases, days on the route, said the Federal Government was determined to take immediate corrective measures while working towards permanent solutions.
“President Tinubu, GCFR, has directed the Federal Ministry of Works to urgently intervene and ensure that necessary corrective actions are taken to restore movement on the affected roads as quickly as possible.” Said Umahi
The Minister, in response to the directive, has already set machinery in motion for immediate action.
As part of the intervention, Umahi directed the Minister of State for Works to lead a team of ministry officials to the Ifaki-Kabba-Ado Ekiti axis to assess the situation and commence urgent remedial works.
The assignment is already on as of 10 a.m. on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, with officials of the Ministry on the ground to begin the intervention.
While the intervention team moved into Ekiti and Kogi States, Umahi himself headed to Benin, Edo State, alongside members of the National Assembly Works Committees, to initiate a similar coordinated intervention on the Benin-Agbor-Asaba road.
The Benin meeting is expected to bring together key stakeholders, including representatives of the Edo and Delta State Governments and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), with the aim of finding immediate solutions to the challenges confronting motorists on the strategic corridor.
Umahi also took responsibility for the unfortunate situation on the affected roads and apologised to commuters who have been stranded or delayed for several hours and days.

Benin-Agbor-Asaba
He assured road users that the Federal Government’s response would go beyond temporary relief, with immediate measures being pursued alongside permanent solutions to restore the affected roads and improve their long-term reliability.
Francis Nwaze
Senior Special Assistant to the Honourable Minister of Works (Media)
August 25, 2026
Eereporter.com
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