The World Bank says Nigeria’s Diaspora remittance inflow is set to increase to $29bn in 2022 due to higher food prices and the continued adoption of official bank channels.
The bank said migrants from the country are likely to send more money home to help with the hike in the prices of staples,according to its report titled, ‘Migration and Development Brief (May 2022): A War in a Pandemic: Implications of the Ukraine crisis and COVID-19 on the global governance of migration and remittance flows,’ report.
According to the report, remittance flows to low and middle-income countries are expected to increase by 4.2 per cent to $630bn in 2022.
It added: “With risks weighted to the downside, there are several factors that support a view for continued—though more moderate—7.1 per cent gain inflows to Sub-Saharan Africa in 2022.
“Momentum for the use of official channels in Nigeria should sustain an uptrend in the year, within flows reaching $21bn. Though economic activity is likely to ease in the United States and Europe, fundamentals remain positive for continued gains in remittance flows to the remainder of Africa, as the influence of ‘altruistic’ motivations that were demonstrated in Africa and South Asia during the peak pandemic years will likely carry over to the period of sharp increases in staple food prices.”
The global bank said remittance inflow to Sub-Saharan Africa was $49bn in 2021, with Nigerian contributing $19.2bn to the total inflow.
It added that the use of informal channels to transfer money to the region caused a 28 per cent reduction in inflows in 2020.
It said:“In 2022, remittance inflows are projected to grow by 7.1 per cent driven by continued shift to the use of official channels in Nigeria and higher food prices – migrants will likely send more money to home countries that are now suffering extraordinary increases in prices of staples.”
The bank said that the Naira-4-Dollar policy, which was an attempt to return remittance to formal channels, of the Central Bank of Nigeria helped boost inflows by 11.2 per cent in 2021.
It added that the stabilisation of the naira against the dollar within a range of 410-415 per dollar over the last year also contributed to the pickup in recorded inflows.
The bank said that the increased stability of the Naira and increased use of the e-Naira would help boost the nation’s chances of achieving $21bn in remittance for 2022.