<P> A major source of foreign - exchange earnings for Nigeria are remittances sent home by Nigerians living abroad . In 2014, 17.5 million Nigerians lived in foreign countries, with the UK and the USA having more than 2 million Nigerians each . </P> <P> According to the International Organization for Migration, Nigeria witnessed a dramatic increase in remittances sent home from overseas Nigerians, going from USD 2.3 billion in 2004 to 17.9 billion in 2007, representing 6.7% of GDP . In 2016, remittances reached a new record of $35 billion . The United States accounts for the largest portion of official remittances, followed by the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Spain and France . On the African continent, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Libya and South Africa are important source countries of remittance flows to Nigeria, while China is the biggest remittance - sending country in Asia . </P> <P> An August 2016 Nigerian Central Bank (NCB) decision to suspend the operations of all MTOs in the country, except those of Western Union, MoneyGram and Rio, was met with a strong backlash . It was argued that the decision was not appropriately justified, while also standing in contrast to the NCB's previous move to ban all exclusivity agreements with Western Union . The decision was considered to disproportionally strengthen the dominant position of Western Union, MoneyGram and Rio . Under pressure, however, the Central Bank reversed the decision and granted new licenses to a number of competing MTOs . </P> <P> Somali expatriates often send remittances to their relatives in Greater Somalia through Dahabshiil and other Somali - owned money transfer companies . In order to ensure that these funds go to their intended recipients rather than Al - Shabaab and other militant groups, the governments of the United States, Australia, and a number of other Western countries tightened their banking requirements or stopped processing altogether the remittances . To address the concerns, the United States Congress passed the Money Remittances Improvement Act of 2014 . </P>

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