THISDAY and TheCable reported provisional Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) figures showing Nigeria’s current-account surplus reached $7.54 billion in the second quarter of 2026 as goods and transfer balances strengthened alongside a wider primary-income deficit.
Personal transfers, including remittances from Nigerians abroad, totaled $5.82 billion, up 9.81% from $5.30 billion in the first quarter of 2026. The secondary-income surplus, which includes those transfers, increased to $6.30 billion from $5.47 billion, the outlets reported. The figures cover April through June.
The primary-income deficit widened to $4.20 billion from $3.23 billion. The reports said the CBN attributed the increase largely to higher dividend and interest payments to nonresident investors. The figures show that personal transfers rose even as investment-related payments abroad increased.
The goods surplus also expanded, reaching $10.12 billion compared with $5.96 billion in the first quarter. Exports rose to $20.08 billion from $15.56 billion, according to the reported CBN figures. The stronger goods balance and transfer inflows accompanied the larger overall current-account surplus.
The CBN classifies personal transfers as secondary income in its balance-of-payments accounts, which track transactions between residents and nonresidents. The $5.82 billion figure therefore measures cross-border personal transfers, not government revenue. The primary-income deficit captures a separate set of flows, including the dividend and interest payments cited in the reports.
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) said Oct. 20 that monthly remittances were nearing $1 billion and urged Nigerians abroad to invest. EconoTimes previously covered the agency’s diaspora investment appeal.
