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Nigeria`s external reserves has hit a record 18.5 billion dollars this month, according to Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.
Lagos, Nigeria, 01/29 - Nigeria`s external reserves has hit a record 18.5 billion dollars this month, according to Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.
The reserves has been rising steadily since 1999, when Nigeria, an oil-rich populous nation returned to democracy after prolonged military rule.
It rose from about five billion dollars in May 1999 to 16.14 billion dollars at the end of November 2004.
Abubakar, who was speaking in the mid-western Benin City Thursday, attributed the improved reserves to economic reforms and government`s fiscal discipline.
He said in spite of misgivings by critics, economic indicators showed that government was on the right track, citing the stable exchange rate of the Nigerian naira to major international currencies.
The local currency officially exchanges for 133 to the US dollar, but goes for about 139 units to the American currency at the parallel market.