The Central Bank of Nigeria has disclosed a significant increase in government deposits, which surged by 46.9 percent year-on-year, reaching N24.9 trillion in 2024 from N16.94 trillion in 2023.
This development was revealed in the apex bank’s recently published Financial Statement.
The sharp rise in government deposits corresponds with an uptick in the nation’s money supply over the same period.
According to data from the CBN’s Money and Credit Statistics, the broad measure of money supply (M²) expanded by 42.4 percent YoY, climbing to N133 trillion in 2024 from N79.3 trillion in 2023.
This spike is attributed to sustained inflationary pressures during the review period.
To contain inflation and mop up excess liquidity, the CBN implemented several monetary tightening strategies throughout the year.
A breakdown of the figures shows that deposits held in capital and settlement accounts by the government rose significantly to N14.6 trillion in 2024, marking a 78 percent increase from N8.2 trillion in the previous year.
Similarly, deposits in domiciliary accounts saw a dramatic surge of 138.6 percent YoY, moving from N3.7 trillion in 2023 to N8.83 trillion in 2024.
Conversely, deposits in other government accounts experienced a steep decline, falling by 71.6 percent to N1.43 trillion in 2024, down from N5.04 trillion in 2023.
Further examination of the CBN’s data revealed that financial institutions’ deposits with the apex bank totaled N27.5 trillion in 2024.
Of this figure, deposits in bank reserve accounts led the pack, rising by 29.7 percent YoY to N26.2 trillion from N20.2 trillion.
In its latest Money and Credit Statistics report, the CBN noted that banks’ total reserves had reached N28.5 trillion as of March 2024.
Cumulatively, the combined deposits of the government and financial institutions amounted to N52.38 trillion in 2024. This represents a 37 percent jump from N38.2 trillion recorded in 2023.
