CBN Rubbishes Claims of Spending Billions to Defend Naira; Cardoso Says Currency Stability is 100% Market-Driven as FX Interventions Crash by 83%

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has fired back at economic critics and financial speculators, declaring that it is no longer using the nation’s foreign reserves as a “crutch” to manually prop up the value of the naira. Addressing concerns over recent movements in the foreign exchange market, the apex bank asserted that the local currency’s current performance is the organic result of its strict new free-market policies, not artificial life support.

The clarification follows recent data showing a dramatic shift in the CBN’s operational manual. According to financial reports, the central bank’s direct injections into the official foreign exchange market plummeted by a staggering 83%, dropping to a mere $150 million. Despite this sharp pullback in direct interventions, the naira has maintained a steady footing against the dollar, confusing market watchdogs who expected a steep decline.

CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso has consistently maintained that the era of aggressive quasi-fiscal interventions is dead and buried. Under his leadership, the apex bank is enforcing a transparent “willing buyer, willing seller” portal where supply and demand dictate the true value of the currency. “We are not intervening to artificially manipulate the exchange rate,” a senior central bank official stated. “The market forces are finding their equilibrium, and the wound is finally healing on its own.”

Instead of government bailouts, the apex bank credited the market’s high liquidity to an aggressive surge in organic investments. Foreign capital inflows skyrocketed by 70% to reach over $20.98 billion, driven by the complete liberalization of the exchange rate and a recent policy shift that granted international oil companies (IOCs) full, unrestricted access to their offshore earnings. This newfound transparency has unlocked dormant capital, bringing average daily market turnover to between $400 million and $600 million.

As the central bank prepares to launch the fourth edition of its comprehensive Foreign Exchange Manual on June 1, 2026, the message to stakeholders is clear: the apex bank is building a permanent security shield around Nigeria’s financial reputation. By stepping back and letting the forces of supply and demand run the engine, the CBN is executing a complete technical rescue of the foreign exchange market, betting that authentic investor trust will do what artificial interventions never could.