Muhammad Sani Abdullahi, deputy governor for economic policy at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has said the country is beginning to regain macroeconomic stability after a period of acute crisis, following a sweeping set of monetary and foreign exchange reforms embarked on following the change in the bank’s leadership in 2023. Abdullahi was speaking at a panel on “Regulation, Risk and Resilience: Building Global Confidence in Nigeria’s Financial System” at the Africa Capital Forum in London, England.
Abdullahi described the situation inherited by the current leadership as one marked by “significant loss of credibility,” broken monetary policy transmission and a severe foreign exchange backlog. “Monetary policy transmission had completely broken. Exports had collapsed. Oil GDP had been collapsing for three years and was in the negative. So, for us as a country, this was very dire straits,” he recalled.
The deputy governor explained that the reform programme has focused on restoring policy coherence, clearing a $7bn foreign exchange backlog and rebuilding investor confidence by addressing structural distortions in the system. “What we were running at the time was a schizophrenic monetary policy arrangement,” he said, pointing to the disconnect between interest rate decisions and simultaneous liquidity injections. Since then, tighter coordination and a shift toward market-based mechanisms have begun to stabilise the currency and revive capital inflows.
Abdullahi added that early results are now visible, with foreign exchange reserves rising significantly, remittance inflows strengthening and inflation trending downward. While cautioning that global conditions remain fragile, he said the CBN’s priority is to consolidate stability and position Nigeria to attract sustained foreign and domestic investment. “We’re at a position now where we believe we have been able to achieve a significant amount of stability. We’re definitely not where we want to be, but there is a lot of stability in the market,’ he concluded.
Speaking on the same panel, Ravi Bhatia, Director and Lead Analyst for Africa at S&P Global, said the agency’s decision to assign Nigeria a positive outlook is in recognition of the sustained commitment to reform following the post-2023 policy reset. Pointing to key measures including exchange rate liberalisation and the removal of fuel subsidies he noted that the country’s economic managers have largely maintained these policies despite periods of volatility. “The direction of travel is pointing in the right direction,” he said, citing moderating inflation and a gradual return of investor confidence.
Bhatia added that fiscal reforms, such as efforts to widen the tax base and curb central bank financing of deficits, are also critical to improving Nigeria’s credit profile. This, in addition to structural shifts in the energy sector, including the impact of the Dangote refinery, as well as favourable external conditions such as rising oil prices, could support growth and strengthen the country’s external position. “I think that will be a net positive for Nigeria as an oil exporter and with the issues around the Strait of Hormuz, we expect to see an increase in export volumes.”
Roosevelt Ogbonna, managing director and CEO of Access Bank, said Nigeria’s banking sector continues to demonstrate resilience despite persistent risk perceptions, arguing that a widening “perception gap” remains a key constraint on access to capital. He noted that while investors often assume risks associated with market volatility, underlying data points to a more stable reality. However, ongoing reforms are beginning to strengthen confidence. “Forget the headlines. Look at what the data is saying,” he said, adding that the current reform cycle is distinguished by growing credibility and a deeper focus on governance, risk management and transparency.
Mariana Jiménez-Huerta, director of regulatory policy and government relations at Prudential Plc, said global investors place significant weight on the strength and alignment of local regulatory frameworks when assessing new markets. While noting that Nigeria is moving in the right direction with more risk-based supervision and stronger solvency frameworks, she stressed the importance of regulatory proportionality to support long-term investment strategies. “It has to be transparent with sound capital and solvency rules,” she said, adding that a predictable, well-coordinated regulatory environment reduces friction and builds confidence for institutional investors.