Nigeria will reward every diaspora dollar inflow with five Naira additional payment as the country seeks to maximise foreign exchange flows from its citizens abroad.
According to a statement by the central bank, recipients of diaspora flows who use formal channels to get U.S. dollars from abroad, will be paid N5 fir every dollar received and this will be on top of proceeds of the cash sent.
It is the latest move by authorities to increase the flow of remittances amid a shortage of hard currency.
Recipients will get 5 naira for every $1 they remit through licensed international money transfer operators and commercial banks, the central bank said.
The program will run from March 8 till May 8.
The West African nation’s currency has been devalued twice since March last year after a sharp drop in oil sales and remittances from workers abroad led to a shortage of dollars.
Measures by the central bank to bolster inflows and a rebound in oil prices could reduce pressure on the currency, which last traded at 411 per dollar at the exchange platform for investors and exporters known as Nafex.
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