Presidency taunts Atiku, Obi, El-Rufai as Nigeria’s external reserves reach $41bn

The Nigerian government is celebrating a significant milestone after the nation’s external reserves reached a four-year high of over $41 billion and taunting opposition leaders, Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and Nasiu El-Rufai.

According to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the gross external reserves hit $41,001,830,139.96 as of August 19, 2025.

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga announced the development in a post on his official X handle on Thursday, stating that the achievement was a result of the “prudent management of the economy by President Bola Tinubu.”

Onanuga’s post took a political turn as he mocked opposition figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s Peter Obi, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai.

“I can bet that Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai and Babachir Lawal would never acknowledge this remarkable success,” he wrote, accusing them of being “blinded” by a “doomed campaign to overthrow Bola Tinubu.”

The net foreign reserves were recorded at $40.3 billion. Onanuga noted that this level of foreign liquidity had not been seen in the country since 2021, a period of 44 months.

The post read: “Nigeria recorded an external reserve of $41,001,830,139.96 (forty-one billion dollars) on 19 August, according to data published today by the Central Bank. Net foreign reserve was $40.3 billion. Nairametrics reported that the last time our country recorded such a level of foreign liquidity was in 2021, 44 months ago.

“The latest milestone was reached without our country having a massive inflow from oil sales. Indeed, oil prices are sliding southwards. It’s all about the prudent management of the economy by President Bola Tinubu. I can bet that Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai and Babachir Lawal would never acknowledge this remarkable success. They are more interested in their doomed campaign to overthrow Bola Tinubu. This obsession has blinded them from recognising the progress being delivered by President Bola Tinubu’s government on multiple fronts.”

The increase in reserves comes despite a sliding trend in global oil prices. According to a recent report by BusinessDay, the reserves’ growth has been largely driven by increased forex inflows resulting from reforms instituted by the CBN and a modest rise in crude oil output.

The CBN’s new policies, which include the elimination of multiple exchange rate windows, have helped attract foreign portfolio investment and stabilize the naira.

The reserves have now been above the $40 billion mark for nearly two weeks, with sufficient capacity to cover over 10 months of import needs.

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