By Sahabi Abdul
The Central Bank of Nigeria is offering a reward for diaspora remittances made through official channels as it targets as much as 34 billion dollars a year in foreign currency inflows.
For every dollar coming in through licensed international money transfer operators, the central bank is offering a reward of five naira, the CBN said in a statement late on Saturday.
“Consistent with the global trend, Nigeria aspires to ensure that remittance flows and diaspora investments become a significant source of external financing,” the regulator said in an emailed statement. “The use of reimbursements of remittance fees has been critical in supporting improved inflow of remittances.”
Citing a study by the auditing firm PwC, the central bank said annual remittances could reach 34.9 billion dollars in two years from current numbers that are around 24 billion dollars. CBN said this can only be achieved through reforms to improve efficiency and transparency.