Nigeria's Central Bank headquarters in Abuja
A view shows Nigeria's Central Bank headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria November 22, 2020. Picture taken November 22, 2020. Reuters / AFOLABI SOTUNDE

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Figures released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Monday revealed that the country's foreign exchange reserves plummeted by $427.14 million in just one month.

As per information provided by the CBN, the foreign reserves decreased from $37.21 billion on Jan. 18 to $36.79 billion at the end of Feb. 16, 2023, Punch reported.

This comes as the country's currency crisis exacerbates due to the shortage of new naira notes.

Furthermore, Nigerians spent a staggering N635.49 trillion ($1.38 billion) on international education in less than a year (January to September 2022), as per the CBN. The money spent covered tuition, housing, living expenditures, and other associated costs of studying abroad.

Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has frequently highlighted how the country's expanding need for international education is clamping down on its foreign reserves and weakening the naira.

Personal travel allowances (PTA), which are recorded as debit transactions in the nation's balance of payments, are the category under which foreign education falls.

The balance of payments (BoP) keeps track of all monetary exchanges between a country and the remainder of the world over a defined period. The CBN recorded a $603.14 million current account deficit for Q3, 2022.

The deficit was $1 billion in the nine months under review, owing to more outflows than inflows.

A negative balance in the balance of payments (BoP) indicates that Nigeria sent more foreign currency abroad than it received during the review period, depleting its external reserves and hurting the value of the naira.

According to the CBN, the current account deficit has been exacerbated by money withdrawn from Nigeria to pay for overseas education and other expenses.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has decided to deliver newly redesigned naira notes to Kano residents' doorsteps. The CBN dispatched representatives to three local government areas in Kano (Kibiya, Rano, and Tundun Wada).

The move coincides with a cash crisis that has left many people struggling.

The CBN has pledged to expand the distribution effort to more local government areas in the state, BusinessDay reported.