Moody’s Ratings has revised Nigeria’s sovereign credit outlook from stable to positive while affirming the country’s long term foreign and local currency issuer ratings at B3, a move the Federal Ministry of Finance says reflects the tangible impact of government’s macroeconomic reforms over the past three years.
The agency attributed the improved outlook to a markedly stronger external position, citing sizeable current account surpluses projected to widen to about 6.1 per cent of GDP in 2026, alongside rising foreign exchange reserves that have climbed to $53.30 billion as of August 26, 2026, according to Central Bank of Nigeria data.
Moody’s also pointed to stronger than expected economic performance, with real GDP growth reaching 4 per cent in 2025 against earlier projections of about 3 per cent, and inflation easing to 15.4 per cent in July 2026 from 25.3 per cent a year earlier.
The rating action follows FTSE Russell’s confirmation of Nigeria’s reclassification to Frontier Market status on August 27, 2026, and comes after S&P Global Ratings upgraded Nigeria to B from B minus in May 2026 and Fitch affirmed the country at B with a stable outlook.
Minister of Finance Taiwo Oyedele described the development as external validation of difficult reforms including the removal of fuel subsidy, exchange rate unification and tax reforms, saying government’s medium term ambition remains placing Nigeria firmly on the path to investment grade through sustained revenue mobilisation and debt management.
By Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed
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