COVID-19: Diaspora remittances drops by $1.02 billion – CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed that the Diaspora total direct remittances between January and February, 2020 dropped by 50.47%; that is from $2.05 billion to $100 2 billion.

The decline, analysts said were due to COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the global economy which also leads to global oil prices downtrend.

According to the Central Bank, Nigeria received $19.2 billion in total direct diaspora remittances between January and December of 2019, but in a data published by the apex bank which was seen by CAPITAL POST in Abuja, remittances grew from 70% in 2018, totalling N11.23 billion.

The decline in Diaspora remittances were due to funds transferred by migrants to their home countries as a result of disruption in businesses.

The breakdown of CBN’s total direct remittances revealed that, in January 2019, $1.89billion was remitted, while in February, $1.92billion was the total direct remittance.

The regulator said: $1.12 billion and $1.56billion was the total direct remittance between March and April 2019 respectively. Total direct remittance hits $1.74billion in May; $1.67 billion in June and $1.66 billion in July 2019.

For August and September, the apex bank reported $1.66 billion and $1.69 billion respectively was remitted to the nation’s economy. The figures was hovering around $1.35 billion in October and $1.32 billion in November but in December, it increased to $1.59 billion.

The report showed that the Diaspora remittances into the Nigeria’s economy moved upward continuously amid series of foreign exchange reforms that tend to attract inflow of capital.

Meanwhile, the Central had licensed International Money Transfer Operators (IMTO) and monitors legitimate foreign currency, with banks and oil companies, most especially Dollar inflow into the country.

Those operators licensed by CBN are TRANS-Fast Remittance, Worldremit limited, UAE Exchange Center LLC, Wari limited, and Home Send S.C.R.L.

Others are Small World Financial Services Group, Weblink International limited Cashpot limited, DT&T Corporation Limited and Corporation limited and Fiem Group LLC, and DBA Ping Express, CP Express limited.

However, PwC had said remittances from abroad could strengthen Nigeria’s economy with an estimated amount of $25.5billion, $29.8billion and $34.8billion in 2019, 2021 and 2023 respectively.

In 2010, Nigeria received $5.66 billion as direct diaspora remittances. Two years later, there was a dip in the country’s remittances as $2.20 billion remittances were recorded in 2013.

Direct remittances inflow picked in 2014, as Nigeria received a total of $8.15 billion.

Fast forward to 2018, direct remittances rose to $17.57 billion. This implies that direct remittances inflow into Nigeria rose by 210.3per cent in a decade.