Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has pledged to look into the high charges on remittance inflow to Nigeria.
This was contained in a statement signed by Gabriel Odu, an officer at the media, public relations and protocols unit of NiDCOM, on Wednesday.
The statement said that the CBN governor gave the assurance during a meeting with the management of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), with the CBN at its headquarters, in Abuja. The NiDCOM team was led by Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairman/CEO.
Cardoso expressed concern over the status of remittances and assured that investigations would be carried out and necessary actions taken to ensure that Nigeria remains the highest receiver of remittances in Sub-Saharan Africa after Egypt.
In 2022, the diaspora home remittances through official channels stood at $21.9 billion, over four times the value of Nigeria’s foreign direct investment (FDI).
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According to World Bank statistics, in 2022, diaspora remittances were well over $22 billion to Nigeria.
The CBN governor commended NiDCOM’s progress and initiatives in four years and called for deepened synergy between the two organisations, stressing that “any bottleneck to remittances will be taken out.”
Earlier, Dabiri-Erewa lamented the high tax rate on remittances, noting that Nigeria has the highest rate.
“I believe diaspora remittances can be improved if the challenges can be looked into and addressed,” she added.
The NiDCOM boss called on the management of the bank to partner with NiDCOM in its numerous initiatives like the National Diaspora Policy, which the CBN is a major stakeholder, Diaspora Data Mapping, Nigerian Diaspora Investment Trust Fund, Diaspora Quarterly Lectures, Badagry Door of Return and Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit to mobilize and increase Diaspora Remittances.
