Nigeria's gross external reserves have climbed from roughly $33.2 billion at the end of 2023 to about $55.26 billion by 28 October 2026, a recovery that has drawn both praise and criticism over the cost of holding foreign assets.
Mustafa Chike-Obi argued in comments reported by TheCable on 18 October 2026 that reserves of $52–$53 billion were costing the country more than $10 billion annually. His calculation assumed foreign assets earned about 3 percent while the naira used to finance them carried an estimated 20 percent interest cost. He added that reserves alone do not constitute economic prosperity and that average Nigerians are not better off.
Data in the International Monetary Fund's 2026 Article IV report shows reserves at $33.2 billion at the end of 2023, $40.2 billion in 2024 and $45.8 billion at the end of 2025. The Central Bank of Nigeria's published series reached approximately $55.26 billion by late October 2026.
The buildup reflects several sources. The IMF reported a current-account surplus equal to 4.8 percent of GDP, or $13.944 billion, in 2025, supported by oil and gas exports and lower refined-petroleum imports as domestic refining expanded. In the second quarter of 2026, the CBN recorded a $7.54 billion surplus. Personal transfers reached about $5.82 billion in the same quarter, according to CBN balance-of-payments figures. Non-resident investors made approximately $6 billion in net purchases of CBN open-market operation instruments in 2025, alongside a $2.3 billion Eurobond issuance.
The author contends that the alleged $10 billion annual cost is not established by a simple interest-rate differential applied to the entire reserve stock. Seventeen percent of $52 billion is about $8.84 billion, while at $53 billion it is $9.01 billion, figures he describes as hypothetical spread calculations rather than demonstrated CBN losses. The actual cost, he writes, must be determined by examining the CBN's balance sheet and financing arrangements.
The IMF estimated that gross reserves at the end of 2025 stood at about 157 percent of its reserve-adequacy metric, above the 100–150 percent range considered broadly adequate for precautionary purposes. The fund also noted that roughly $8 billion in reserve assets pledged under a securities-lending arrangement would be excluded under its definition, meaning the difference between published gross reserves and unencumbered external assets warrants closer examination.
