$5 billion swap deal raises questions despite Nigeria’s record $54.6 billion reserves
There is a particular kind of quiet that settles over a shop in Balogun Market when the owner returns from the moneylender. Consider a textile trader who has just closed the best season of her working life. The lace is moving, the Ankara is moving, the customers from Cotonou have come back, and for the […] The post $5 billion swap deal raises questions despite Nigeria’s record $54.6 billion…
A swap deal worth $5 billion has sparked questions despite Nigeria's record $54.6 billion reserves. On March 24, 2026, President Bola Tinubu sought approval for a structured external financing program with First Abu Dhabi Bank. Nigeria agreed to a total return swap, in which it pledged its Naira-denominated Federal Government securities worth 133.3% of the borrowed amount.
This swap means Nigeria has borrowed $2 billion and posted collateral worth a third more. Despite Nigeria's reserves exceeding its external debt, the country chose to enter this arrangement, raising concerns about economic theory and currency mismatches.
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