Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s governor, stated over the weekend that the official foreign exchange receipt from crude oil sales into Nigeria’s official reserves has depleted from over $3.0 billion monthly in 2014 to zero dollars today.

At the 57th annual bankers’ lecture sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos on Saturday, Mr. Emefiele said there was a significant loss in foreign reserves due to the naira’s struggle and the rise in demand for forex.

He stated that a severe crisis in the Nigerian foreign exchange market is putting pressure on the country’s reserves and suppressing the value of the naira.

“The official foreign exchange receipt from crude oil sales into our official reserves has dried up steadily from above $3.0 billion monthly in 2014 to an absolute zero dollar today,” he said.